Synopsis

Raimunda is a young mother, hard working and very attractive, with an unemployed husband and a daughter in mid-adolescence. The family finances are very shaky, so Raimunda has got several jobs. She is a very strong woman, a born fighter, yet very fragile emotionally. She has kept a terrible secret to herself since childhood. Her sister Sole is a little older. Timid and fearful, she makes her living with an illegal (undeclared) hair salon. Her husband left her and went off with a client. Since then she has lived on her own. Paula is their aunt. She lives in a village in La Mancha where the whole family was born. On a Sunday in spring, Sole calls Raimunda to tell her that their Aunt Paula, who she adored, has passed away. Raimunda can't go to the funeral because moments before getting the call from her sister, when she had just come back from one of her jobs, Raimunda had found her husband dead in the kitchen, with a knife stuck in his chest. Her daughter has confessed to killing him. The most important thing for Raimunda is to save her daughter. How, she doesn’t know. What she can’t do is accompany her sister Sole to aunties funeral in La Mancha.

What The Critics Say

"Almodovar delves deep into the darkness of a woman's maternal instincts, finding alternate humor and harrowing emotion in one of the year's most fascinating films." Todd Gilchrist IGN MOVIES "A mature and beautifully told tale of family and the ghosts that haunt us." Helen OHara EMPIRE MAGAZINE UK "Volver is suspenseful, clever, gently funny and always emotionally resonant." Claudia Puig USA TODAY "Will leave you with a smile on your face and a tear in your eye that cinema can be this gorgeous and glorious." Edward Douglas COMINGSOON.NET "The general rule in Hollywood is an actress can give either a glamorous performance or an 'important' one. But Pedro Almodovar allows his actresses to do both." Bruce Kirkland JAM! MOVIES

"A celebration of what women can and will do to survive this mortal coil. Penelope Cruz is transformed into a classic woman for all the ages." Josh Larsen SUN PUBLICATIONS CHICAGO "Volver is really Cruz's coronation as the Spanish Sophia Loren." Bob Strauss LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS "Penelope Cruz has never looked more beautiful and she gives a sensational, career best performance as Raimunda." Matthew Turner VIEWLONDON "Cruz is glorious to watch here, all voluptuous emotion and energy, a sure fire Best Actress nominee." Laura Clifford REELING REVIEWS "Mildred Pierce won Joan Crawford an Oscar, and Almodóvar's quaint riff on the Michael Curtiz classic may do the same for Penélope Cruz." Ed Gonzalez SLANT MAGAZINE

Pedro Almodóvar - Director Born in the Calzada de Calatrava province of Ciudad Real, in the heart of La Mancha in the 50s, Pedro Almodóvar moved with his family to Estremadura when he was eight years old. There, he studied for his elementary and high school diplomas in spite of the Salesian Fathers and the Franciscans. At 17, he left home and moved to Madrid, with no money and no job, but with a very specific project in mind: to study cinema and direct films. It was impossible to enroll in the Official Film School because Franco had just closed it. As he couldn’t learn the language of film, he decided to learn the content, that is: life, living… Despite the dictatorship that was suffocating the country, for an adolescent from the provinces, Madrid represented culture, independence and freedom. He worked at many, sporadic jobs but couldn’t buy his first Super-8mm camera until he got a "serious" job at the National Telephone Company of Spain where he worked for 12 years as an administrative assistant, 12 years which he also devoted to numerous activities which provided his real training as a filmmaker and as a person. In the mornings at the telephone company, he acquired an in-depth knowledge of the Spanish middle class at the start of the consumer era; its dramas and misfortunes were a veritable goldmine for a future storyteller. In the evenings and at night, he wrote, loved, performed with the mythical independent theatre group Los Goliardos and made films in Super-8 (his only training as a filmmaker). He collaborated with various underground magazines and wrote stories, some of which were published. He was a member of a parodic punk-rock group, Almodóvar and McNamara, etc. He had the good fortune that the opening of his first film in commercial cinemas coincided with the beginning of democracy in Spain. After 18 months of eventful shooting on 16mm, "Pepi, Luci, Bom…" was released in1980, a no-budget film made as a cooperative effort with the rest of the crew and the cast, all of whom were beginners with the exception of Carmen Maura. In 1986, he founded the production company El Deseo S.A. with his brother Agustín. Their first project was "Law of Desire". Since then, they have produced all the films that Pedro has written and directed, as well as producing the work of several young directors. In 1988, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" brought him international recognition. Since then, his films have been shown around the world. With "All About my Mother" he won his first Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and also the Golden Globe, the César, three European Film Awards, the David de Donatello, two BAFTAs, seven Goyas and 45 other awards. Three years later, "Talk to Her" fared as well or better, receiving an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, five European Film Awards, two BAFTAs, the Nastro de Argento, the César and many other awards throughout the world (but not in Spain). He produced three very special films, internationally acclaimed for their valour and delicacy ("My Life Without Me", "The Holy Girl" and "The Secret Life of Words"). In 2004, "Bad Education" was chosen to open the Cannes Festival. It received extraordinary reviews throughout the world, was nominated for numerous awards (Independent Spirit Awards, BAFTAs, César, European Film Awards) and won the prestigious Award for Best Foreign Film given by the New York Critics Circle, as well as the Italian film critics’ Nastro de Argento. He probably benefits from the greatest freedom and independence of any director working today. He is credited with launching the career of Antonio Banderas, who starred in the 1990 film "ˇÁtame!", better known to cinemagoers as 'Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down".
The Inside Story "The most difficult thing about "Volver" has been writing its synopsis. My films are becoming more and more difficult to relate and summarize in a few lines. Fortunately, this difficulty has not been reflected in the work of the actors, or of the rest of the crew. The shooting of "Volver" went like clockwork. I guess I enjoyed it more because the last shoot ("Bad Education") was absolute hell," says director Pedro Almodóvar. Which begs the question as to why he felt he was in 'hell'. "I had forgotten what it was like to shoot without constantly feeling as though I was on the edge of the abyss. This doesn’t mean that "Volver" is better than my last film (in fact, I’m very proud of having made Bad Education) just that this time, I suffered less. In fact, I didn’t suffer at all. In any case, Bad Education confirmed something essential for me (which I had already discovered on "Matador" and "Live Flesh"): you can never throw in the towel. Even if you’re convinced that your work is a disaster, you have to keep fighting for every shot, every take, every look, every silence, every tear. You mustn’t lose a drop of enthusiasm even if you’re in despair. The passing of time gives you another perspective and sometimes, things weren’t as bad as you once thought," he explained. They certainly aren't, because his masterful style of storytelling and his fine directorial skills are showcased throughout "Volver", a rich tale of family, love and ghosts from the past. "I read the script in a heartbeat. The hyperrealism of the first scenes places you in an extremely emotionally tense situation. Volver is a constant narrative sleight-of-hand, a conjuring trick," says Juan José Millás. "And you never know where the trick is." The trick in "Volver", which translated means 'coming back', is whether you believe in the supernatural. The ability to 'come back' from the dead. "Volver is a title that includes several kinds of 'coming back' for me," says Almodóvar. "I have come back, a bit more, to comedy. I have come back to the world of women, to La Mancha (this is undoubtedly my most strictly Manchegan film, the language, the customs, the patios, the sobriety of the facades, the streets paved with cobblestones). I am working again with Carmen Maura (after 17 years), with Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueńas and Chus Lampreave. I have come back to motherhood, as the origin of life and of fiction. And naturally, I have come back to my mother. To come back to La Mancha is always to come back to the maternal bosom." So, did his mother have an influence on the film? "While writing the screenplay and during the shoot, my mother was always present and very close." By making "Volver" he hopes that he has slotted in a piece of the puzzle of life. "The piece of the puzzle that I am talking about is "death", not just my own and that of my loved ones but the merciless disappearance of everything that lives. I have never accepted or understood it," Almodóvar offers, adding "And that puts you in a distressing situation when faced with the increasingly rapid passage of time." Has making the film helped his acceptance at all? "For the first time, I think I can look at it without fear, although I continue to neither understand nor accept it. I’m starting to get the idea that it exists." It seems that creating "Volver" with Raimunda & Sole's mother as the central part of the film has had a number of effects on him. "I believe that with "Volver" I have recovered some of my 'patience', a word which naturally involves many other things," he notes. And is it true that the film is a tribute to the dead and in particular the ritual practices which were a part of life in the village he grew up in? It is indeed. "Volver is a tribute to the social rituals practiced by the people of my village with regard to death and the dead. The dead never die. I have always admired and envied the naturalness with which my neighbours speak of the dead, cultivate their memory and tend their graves constantly. Like the character of Agustina in the film, many of them look after their own graves for years, while they are alive. I have the optimistic feeling that I have been impregnated with all that and that some of it has stayed with me." Despite the fact that Almodóvar says he is still a non-believer, he has never the less when it comes to Irene (the character played by Carmen Maura), invested her with rich wisdom and much love. "Despite being a non-believer, I’ve tried to bring the character from the other world. And I’ve made her talk about heaven, hell and purgatory. And," he notes, "I’m not the first one to discover this, the other world is here. The other world is this one. Hell, Heaven, Purgatory, they are us, they are inside us. Sartre put it better than I." Sartre may well have, but he didn't put it into such a richly rewarding film as Almodóvar has. Just ask writer Gustavo Martin Garzo. "It reminds me of the world of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?!" But it is less baroque, there is a transparency in it that situates us again in that world, it couldn’t be otherwise, but at the same time in a different way; more poetic, wiser, more touching," Garzo noted. "That mixture of horror and happiness is wonderful. As if your characters could always find in the midst of hell, as Calvino wanted, that which isn’t hell, and they’ll always manage to make it last in their lives. That mixture, so typically yours, of candor and perverseness which makes the most dreadful things funny, and manages to find beauty and hope in places they couldn’t possibly exist, seems to me one of the most marvelous things in your films." While 'death' and 'life after' is a central theme, don't go thinking that the film "Volver" is a tale of doom and gloom. It is in fact a beautifully balanced mix of comedy, drama, hope, love and family. "I suppose that Volver is a dramatic comedy. It has funny sequences and dramatic sequences. Its tone imitates 'real life' but it isn’t a portrayal of local customs. Rather it has a surreal naturalism, if that were possible. I’ve always mixed genres and I still do," Almodóvar explained. "For me, it comes naturally. The fact of including a ghost in the plot is a basically comic element, particularly if you treat it in a realistic way." Just like the films storyline, the making of the film involved family. "Volver is a film about family, made with family. My own sisters were the advisers on what happened both in La Mancha and inside the houses in Madrid." The Verdict "The cast, headed by a lucious Penelope Cruz (under the direction of acclaimed director Pedro Almodóvar, assisted by the stunning work of three time Goya award winning D.O.P José Luis Alcain and the sharp editing of Jose Salcedo), create a rich and colorful experience adults will adore. Penelope Cruz has never looked better nor has she appeared in a better role. The films opening scene, set in a cemetary where the village women (in the face of a dust storm) are lovingly tending to the graves of their much loved departed relatives, is the doorway to a scrumptious tale of family values, ghosts and love. Cannes Film Festival winner for Best Actress and Best Screenplay, "Volver" (pronounced "VOLV - air"), is a tale of women surviving. It is a mixture of the supernatural, tragedy and comedy. Each and every woman in the cast excels, but none more than Cruz. Very recommended. 4 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "VOLVER" stars .......
David di Donatello and Goya award winner Penélope Cruz ["Captain Corelli's Mandolin", "Waking Up in Reno", "Gothika" and "Sahara"]; Goya, Ciak, Fotogramas de Plata and the European Film Best Actress Award winner Carmen Maura ["To the End of the Road", "Searching for Love" and "Free Zone"]; Blanca Portillo ["The Dog in the Manger", "Mine Alone" and "Goya's Ghosts"]; Yohana Cobo ["The Dancer Upstairs", "The Seventh Day" and "Only Human"], Chus Lampreave ["The Flower of My Secret", "Kill Me Over and Over" and "Talk To Her"] and Lola Dueńas ["En medio de ninguna parte", "Everything Happens to Me", "Talk To Her" and "The Sea Inside"] as Sole.
"VOLVER" was .......
directed by Pedro Almodóvar ["Labyrinth of Passion", "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", "All About My Mother" and "Talk to Her"]; screenplay by Pedro Almodóvar ["The Flower Of My Secret", "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", "All About My Mother", "Talk To Her" and "Bad Education "]; costume design by Bina Daigeler ["All About My Mother", "The Dancer Upstairs" and "Cargo"]; director of photography by José Luis Alcaine ["In Praise Of Older Women", "I Know Who You Are" and "The Whore and the Whale"]; original music by Alberto Iglesias ["Sexand Lucia", "Talk to Her" and "The Constant Gardener"] executive produced by Agustín Almodóvar ["Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", "Talk To Her", "Chill Out!", "Bad Education" and "The Secret Life of Words"] and produced by Esther García ["Chill Out!", "Bad Education" and "The Secret Life of Words"]. Run Time 121 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Sony Pictures Classics - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages- All Rights Reserved