FilmJudge - Volver

REVIEW

Volver
2006
Certificate: 15 | Runtime: 121 | Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo

Two sisters, Raimunda (Cruz) and Sole (Dueñas), have to carry on with their lives after the sudden death of their aunt. Both are still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, and Raimunda's husband also dies in a disturbing accident. Soon afterwards however, Sole becomes convinced their mother is still alive, and their friend Agustina (Portillo) sheds some new light on what happened to her.

Volver is one of the strangest films I've seen this year. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and the film is highly original and always interesting. And yet, despite some very good performances and the unusual storyline, Volver is a very distant film; one you're conscious of merely watching and not becoming involved in.

To the performances first though, and Cruz has been in so much Hollywood trash in recent years that I had almost forgotten that she's a legitimately talented actress. Raimunda is comfortably the most complicated character in the film, and the way Cruz breathes real life into her is wonderful. She's funny, beautiful and hard-working, yet emotionally distant in some respects too, and we never tire of seeing her on screen. Dueñas is also solid, and Portillo is very good too, although some of the sympathy for her character comes from the fact that she is clearly unwell from the outset.

The basic plot is also pretty intriguing too, particularly with regard to what happened to the mother. Until it's revealed to us what exactly is going on, it's never entirely possible to guess, which certainly makes the film more watchable. The dialogue itself is often witty and memorable, as well as containing a number of quite touching moments.

And yet despite all these things, Volver is an extremely hard film to become emotionally attached to. The behaviour of the characters (particularly with regard to Raimunda and the death of her husband) seems unnatural and strange. Admittedly this is probably deliberate, and it's certainly not the fault of the cast, but it just doesn't work. These are after all, people going through tremendously emotional times in their lives, but apart from the occasional weepy scene we never get that impression.

I do actually think some of the blame for this must be directed at Almodóvar. His direction is as interesting and different as always, but this in many ways means the film lacks real focus, and we're never sure when the tone of the film is meant to be quirky or serious. It's also needlessly long, with a final 20 minutes or so which becomes convoluted and seems oddly out of place.

There's no doubt that Volver is still a film one should make an effort to see, but at the same time it's difficult to come up with a multitude of reasons for doing so. The performances are all good, and there's something refreshing about the whole thing, but there's no doubting the overall impact it has is quite limited.

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