Volver Volver is a nice short story of a movie. It sets out to tell a sweet story, and it does it. If you have not already, I suggest that you do not find out too much about the plot. The surprises that the plot throws at you contribute a lot to the charm of the movie. The movie does have a slight black humor element in it. The plot also contains enough real drama to keep us on our toes and interested. If you are looking for a date movie that is much more graceful than the usual Hollywood product, I would strongly recommend this movie (and even if you don't have a date you can still go see this). It is also nice to see a movie which has almost no male leads at all. There is no reason that strong movies cannot be made with female leads, and the lions share has always gone to male actors. Of course there are exceptions to this. Hilary Swank has Freedom Writers coming out very soon. I personally think that some of the female comedians/actresses could give Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell a run for their money.
Pedro Almodóvar, the director and also wrote the screenplay, has made this movie with a confident hand. The movie blends the black humor, drama, and comedy into a very pleasant heartfelt two hours. He also directed Talk to Her , and the two movies have a lot in common. Volver is much more slanted towards comedy where Talk to Her is more dramatic. But both of these movies take the time to tell a story, and they tell it well.
Volver is extremely well cast and acted. If I had to make any complaint it would be that there were a couple of shots of cleavage and bottoms that did not really contribute anything to the story, but I am not complaining really loud. It is a good sign when you are watching the movie that you want to know more about all of the characters, and you get the impression that a movie could have been made about each one. Penélope Cruz holds the screen, and watching her I could not but help to think that this is a kind of movie that Sophie Loren (or Anna Magnani since she is actually shown in a film clip towards the end of Volver ) would have made years ago. The music, which was composed by Alberto Iglesias, fits like a glove with the movie. Alberto Iglesias also composed the music for The Constant Gardner . The film is in Spanish with subtitles. It is always a pleasure to watch a movie with a well written screenplay. I am not sure how wide of a release that Volver is receiving, but if you can find it, be sure and check it out.
You can write James Harper at movielover77061@yahoo.com |
