Volver

The title of Pedro Almodóvar's film means “coming back,” which is appropriate for a movie about the return of a woman long presumed dead. A chick flick in the Almodóvarian sense (i.e., it mimics 1950s Hollywood tearjerkers and the male characters are mostly superfluous and often malevolent), Volver mingles disparate narrative elements—whimsy, light comedy, dark drama, suspense—in a wildly careening story served up with a typically vibrant color palette (especially the reds). The script revolves around two sisters—the vivacious married Raimunda (Oscar-nominee Penelope Cruz), and the single and frumpy Sole (Lola Dueñas)—whose lives are radically altered by two shocking events: Raimunda's daughter kills her lustful stepfather and Raimunda tries to conceal the body; and Sole believes that she's conjured up the ghost of their mother (Carmen Maura). Volver approaches the potentially heavyweight subject of bridging misunderstandings between mothers and daughters with a mixture of florid melodrama and pure farce, yet even though the director breaks no new ground, the film is still enjoyable overall. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Pedro Almodóvar and star Penelope Cruz, an eight-minute “making-of” featurette, an 18-minute AFI “A Tribute to Cruz” interview by Kenneth Turan, a 10-minute interview with Almodóvar, an interview with Cruz (6 min.), an interview with costar Carmen Maura (8 min.), a photo/poster gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid film.] (F. Swietek)