Volver - 29th August 2006

I am a big fan of Almodovar and his latest offering didn't disappoint. Volver was above all a story about the trials and tribulations of Women.

All the action in the film took place within spheres of activity which traditionally belong to women: the family home, the kitchen, the hair salon, even a daytime TV show. And although the film dealt with some varied things: death and murder and ghosts, we saw everything from a woman's perspective. Paula has just murdered her father and, although we hear the story, we do not see the murder itself. More attention is spent on the cleaning up of the crime scene: Penelope Cruz wiping up the blood, mopping the floor and washing the knife. When she is momentarily interrupted by a knock at the door she explains away the blood on her neck as "women's troubles."

The action mostly centres around the Penelope Cruz's (female) family and the extended family-like village community whom she can call upon to help her out with running the restaurant or disposing of her husband's body. Men, on the other hand, are conspicuous by their absence. Most notably in the opening scene, where all the village's women set about cleaning their husbands' graves. Where they do appear men are presented as perverts and lechers. Penelope's husband is a prime example and the shadow of her dead father is constantly present - given that his actions could be taken as a catalyst for all the events in the film.

The style is very much that of melodrama which reinforces the use of women's talk and gossip as the principal plot devices; this is also backed up by the Hitchcockian suspense music used. Penelope Cruz was fantastic as she always is in her Spanish language films. The film was never boring and actually quite funny in some parts.

Overall: 7.5