Volver (R, 2006)

Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) and her sister, Sole (Lola Dueñas), mourn their mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), who died years ago in a house fire. The separated Sole is still inclined to romance, while Raimunda -- married to the slovenly, lascivious Paco (Antonio de la Torre) -- is not. Paco soon suffers a bloody end for his abuses, and Raimundo explains his sudden absence as the result of an argument. Her efforts to dispose of the body form a darkly comic, antic little subplot, à la Hitchcock. At the same time, more funerals loom, first when Irene's aged sister Paula (Chus Lampreave) passes on, and again when longtime family friend, Agustina (Blanca Portillo), is hospitalized with cancer. When Agustina tells a story about a spirit who visits her the night Paula dies, the women believe her without question. The ghost turns out to be Irene, returned to make peace with Raimunda. Sole's belief in the ghost makes it acceptable for the rest of us. Irene's reappearance illustrates the extent of the women's community. At ease with one another, they understand limits and pleasure, and how to make the most of both. The women's traumas draw them together even as they create rifts.

A lush, loving celebration of women's survival, Pedro Almodóvar's VOLVER, as its title suggests, is full of returns, of emotions and bodies, energies and dilemmas -- all of them women's. The most bracing, strange, and provocative aspect of Almodóvar's movie (aside from Cruz's much-remarked-upon magnificence) is its celebration of women's self-understanding.

Yes, men are brutal and slow, and yes, women tolerate them, even love them. But in the end, men are unimportant in the women's patient, purposeful, and proud survival.

Studio: Sony Pictures
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Cast: Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas, Penelope Cruz
Genre: Drama
Run time: 120 minutes
Theatrical release: November 3, 2006
DVD release: April 3, 2007
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: sexual content and language.