Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 11/03/06 (LA & NY) 12/22.06 (St. Louis) Home Video 04/02/07 MPAA Rating Rated R for some sexual content and language Running Time 2 hours 1 minute Genre Comedy Director Pedro Almodóvar Writer Pedro Almodóvar Cast Yohana Cobo, Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo Studio Sony Pictures Classics |
VOLVER
SYNOPSIS
Three generations of women survive the east wind,
fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means
of goodness, lies and boundless vitality.
They are Raimunda (Pénelope Cruz), who is married
to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage
daughter (Yohana Cobo); Sole (Lola Dueñas), her
sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the
mother of both (Carmen Maura), who died in a fire
along with her husband. This character appears first
to her sister (Chus Lampreave) and then to Sole,
although the people with whom she has some
unresolved matters are Raimunda and her
neighbour in the village, Agustina (Blanca Portillo).
Volver is not a surrealistic comedy although it may
seem so at times. The living and the dead coexist
without any discord, causing situations that are
either hilarious or filled with a deep, genuine
emotion. It's a film about the culture of death in my
native La Mancha. The people there practice it with
an admirable naturalness. The way in which the
dead continue to be present in their lives, the
richness and humanity of their rites mean that the
dead never die.
Volver destroys all the clichés about "black" Spain
and offers a Spain that is as real as it is the
opposite. A Spain that is white, spontaneous, funny,
intrepid, supportive and fair.--©Sony Pictures
Classics
Three generations of women survive the east wind,
fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means
of goodness, lies and boundless vitality.
They are Raimunda (Pénelope Cruz), who is married
to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage
daughter (Yohana Cobo); Sole (Lola Dueñas), her
sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the
mother of both (Carmen Maura), who died in a fire
along with her husband. This character appears first
to her sister (Chus Lampreave) and then to Sole,
although the people with whom she has some
unresolved matters are Raimunda and her
neighbour in the village, Agustina (Blanca Portillo).
Volver is not a surrealistic comedy although it may
seem so at times. The living and the dead coexist
without any discord, causing situations that are
either hilarious or filled with a deep, genuine
emotion. It's a film about the culture of death in my
native La Mancha. The people there practice it with
an admirable naturalness. The way in which the
dead continue to be present in their lives, the
richness and humanity of their rites mean that the
dead never die.
Volver destroys all the clichés about "black" Spain
and offers a Spain that is as real as it is the
opposite. A Spain that is white, spontaneous, funny,
intrepid, supportive and fair.--©Sony Pictures
Classics
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
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