by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A Rated R 121 min
Acclaimed Spanish filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar wrote and directed this intriguing subtitled drama Volver. It delves into two generations of child abuse in a dysfunctional family that has lost its moral compass. The scenario has moments of humor and it serves as a showcase for Penelope Cruz’s considerable acting talent.
Clearly, Cruz’s acting skill has been underused in past commercial films. Under Almodovar’s guidance, Cruz shines in a tour de force performance as Raimunda, a cleaner at the Madrid Airport. Her daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo) has an unusual genetic heritage.
Raimunda’s worthless husband, Paco (Antonie de la Torre), lost his job and spends his days drinking beer and watching soccer. Paco claims he is not Paula’s father, a fact he exploits by attempting to rape her. In defending herself, Paula ends up stabbing Paco to death. Well, good riddance, according to Raimunda. She cleans up the mess, and by happenstance, gets the keys to a temporarily closed restaurant, and stores his body in the eatery’s freezer.
In her calculating manner, Raimundo’s main goal is to spare her daughter any involvement in Paco’s death and cover-up. Interestingly, Raimunda and Paula suffer no pangs of conscience and get on with their lives minus Paco. She tells people Paco left her and moved to another city.
Sole (short for Soledad) is Raimunda’s sister. She now lives in Madrid and runs an illegal hairdressing shop out of her apartment. The sisters’ mother, Irene (Carman Maura), died in a fire two years ago, along with their father. Irene’s ailing sister, Tia Paula (Chus Lampreave), still lives in their hometown, La Mancha, where she is cared for by Agustina (Blanca Portillo), whose own mother mysteriously disappeared on the day of the fire.
Yes, keeping this fractured family tree straight in one’s mind requires participation by the viewer but it’s worth the effort as the story contains many twists and turns. When Aunt Paula suddenly dies, Agustina confides to Raimunda that her mother’s ghost has returned and was taking care of her sister during her final days. Sole and Paula have seen her also, and are keeping her out of sight in Sole’s apartment. Sole tells her clients that Irene is a Russian street person who she took in to help.
The story then becomes a clever farce as Sole and Paula try to hide the “ghost” of Irene from Raimunda. Of course, one thing leads to another and finally Raimunda finds out that mom has returned with some shocking news.
Meanwhile, a film crew is in town and needs a caterer so Raimunda agrees to open the restaurant and serve lunches to the cast and crew. This becomes a profitable business for her. The owner is away on a holiday, and knows nothing about her activities in his restaurant. Raimunda is a master of deception and manipulation. Paco’s death, and her subseqent cover-up, has no affect on her. She moves on without regret. Her daughter Paula has some problems with the fact that she killed Paco, but she gets over it quickly.
In this film, Almodovar’s women are a curious blend of pragmatism and cunning with comedic undertones. Almodova’s trademark comedic realism is a strong character motivation. Cruz even gets a chance to sing at the film company’s wrap party which she has catered. One could say that Cruz’s Rainmunda is an amoral, conniving bitch, but simultaneously charming and beautiful. Almodovar makes a point that in this culture, women really don’t need men, who are portrayed as philandering louts. Symbolizing this notion, in one brief scene, Sole sees all the dead men of the town, as if thinking “who needs them, they die long before the women anyway.”
As the plot unfolds, the family’s dirty laundry is aired. Raimunda and her mom, Irene, give up the family secrets and Irene confesses to a terrible crime. The women’s lack of remorse for their actions, which have led to the death of people close to them, is a central theme of Almodovar’s story. In other words, don’t mess with this female-dominated family.
Almodovar’s skewed morality is represented as humor to deflect its shocking effect on the viewer. Although reading subtitles that move by rapidly is a bit distracting, some of the translations are funny in themselves, like calling tabloid TV “trash TV.”
As the pieces fit together, one finally sees the justification for the characters’ actions and why perhaps Raimunda is so cold about the things that have happened. These women learned a long time ago that they had to take charge of their own lives apart from the men who have done nothing but abused and disappointed them.
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