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2008 Fall/Winter Movie Preview
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Movie Reviews VOLVER: Almodovar returns to familiar territory | VOLVER: Almodovar returns to familiar territory |
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| Written by Jed Medina | ||
| Sunday, 10 June 2007 | ||
- - - Film review by Jamie Garwood - - - Volver translates as ‘to return’ or ‘to go back’. After the male-dominated La Mala Education, Pedro Almodovar, the most famous Spanish director returns to some of his favourite themes for his 17th feature. Almodovar returns to the subject of women, La Mancha and two of his muses, Penelope Cruz and Carmen Maura. It tells the story of two sisters Raimunda (Cruz) and Soledad (Lola Duenas) who after the loss of their aunt, start seeing appearances of their deceased mother at the moment when their lives become more complicated. Raimunda is the head-strong sister, married with one child to an unloving husband who has two jobs to maintain a livelihood. Her husband though attempts to rape the daughter and so the daughter kills him, this leads to hiding the truth. Soledad is single and works a private hair salon at her home; her name literally means solitude. They are chalk and cheese, upon their first appearance at their parents grave they act more like friends which is explained later on. Then the mother appears first to Soledad, and knowing that there is some hidden resentment between the two hides her from Raimunda. The mother is played by Maura in an unkempt appearance (‘No wonder I gave you a fright.’) Almodovar has always been more successful writing for women and prefers to write for them. He empowers them, makes them funny while keeping them vulnerable. His themes of authorship is always of contemporary material focusing on domestic plots on a par with soap operas but with a flamboyant edge. Upon (finally) watching this I found the film to be the least flashy of his films, in terms of colour and unusual editing and camerawork. The only flash of excess is seen nearer Cruz’s chest which is lusted over by Almodovar’s adoring camera-eye; at one point we have an overhead shot of Cruz’s cleavage. Though these are mute points, there is a useful juxtaposition of the city’s vibrancy and movement in contrast to the village life’s stillness and drabness. The reason he is so good at writing for women, is that any man in this film disappears in one way or another. One dies, one leaves for Barcelona and one who shares some attraction with Raimunda leaves town with the film crew he arrived in. The biggest collective of men at the aunt’s funeral are kept in a separate room away from the more sympathetic women. Women are there for women as a community of support; men are seen as the means to an end and that end is marriage. I believe Volver is a strong film and return for Almodovar. I do not believe it to be a return to form though as La Mala Education was not a blip but again a strong film after Talk to Her. Some critics upon its release remarked upon its feel of familiarity and laziness, but I think after the change of direction to a male led narrative, maybe he needed to return to a film he knew he could not fail at. For Spanish audiences the opportunity to see Almodovar/Cruz/Maura together is a dream come true and maybe that’s how you should treat the film - a dream or god forbid, dressed up entertainment. [ visit official website ] |
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