Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Volver climaxes with compelling cast


Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Starring Penélope Cruz
Language: Spanish
Rated R

From the opening scene, Pedro Almodóvar introduces his delicate style of mixing morbidity and vibrancy as chatter-box women polish tombs of their departed loved ones. The filmmaker’s signature plasticity is nearly tangible in Volver, as it is in so many of his acclaimed works. Forget jewelry. In this quirky comedic drama even the scenery seems plastic. It’s so drenched in up beat charisma that even when it rains, it soars.

Vovler’s title, which translates to Coming Back in English, subscribes to the overwhelming desire of human beings to know, once again, those they’ve lost. It addresses people in life who have the power to shake our foundation. Their departure often leaves us shattered, and their return is needed to gain stability. Such is the common thread in Volver, as characters go in search of closure, of peace.

Consider, Almodóvar’s 1988 film Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) which features Carmen Maura as the lead role, Pepe. Maura returns in Volver, as the role of Irene, a mother of two grown women. While Maura’s role in Volver is emblematic of a warm, yet strong mother, her daughter’s character, Raimunda, resembles that of Maura’s character in Mujeres. Similar less in circumstance — though both Raimunda and Mujeres’ Pepe encounter extreme situations of stress and action — Pepe’s florescent essence shines through in Raimunda’s high-heeled confidence. To this day, Almodóvar does little to hide his adoration for lively female characters.

Heaving cleavage a-blazin,’ Raimunda’s cups are filled by Penélope Cruz. Her acclaim in international cinema seems to be overshadowed by her few American works, which do the actress little justice. The Madrid-born 32-year-old packed the part of Raimunda with more presence than any of her roles in such American films as Vanilla Sky, Blow and Gothika.

In Volver, Cruz’s character is no lady, at some points vulgar, but she is painted with femininity, both maternal and hard-edged. Her Best Actress award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival laid the way for little surprise at how well Cruz plays the colorful female role. A mother, sister, daughter and niece, Raimunda knows how to take care of business, and those around her. While expressive of emotion, and showing human fragility, Almodóvar’s Raimunda doesn’t lose control in dire situations. She maintains her cool, and does so with perfect liquid lined eyes and floral hike-up blouses. In this nearly all-female cast, other characters also excel at handling crises — they lend each other help, and don’t consider for a moment that any task is undoable.

Another distinguishing feature of Almodóvar’s present in Volver is his characters lack of concern about any consequences that may arise from their drastic actions. This may be attributed to its success at stitching humor into a story that’s built on murder, death, abuse and illness. While the film is a kind of murder-mystery thriller, its plot mainly focuses on the light, comedic queries of the “living” characters, and their strong relationships with one another.

One of the film’s main accomplishments is its ability to dangle questions over our brains, teasing with suspense and alluding to possible outcomes. Then, as though blossoming with resolution, answers fall to our feet with precisely the right timing, mere moments before too much confusion sets in.

A certain sentence haunts the movie, and contributes to the sometimes ambiguous nature of the story: “Someday I’ll explain it all.” Throughout the film, characters assure each other of this. They play off of one another, promising an explanation that ends up partly, though never fully, delivered.

Volver is a film of delayed explanations, but also of high reaching climaxes. While there are enough twists to quench even the driest attention span, the keen observer is able to spot some visibly approaching plot points before their arrival. Despite any anticipation, these twists are brilliantly crafted, and do enough to give viewers the closure that the characters themselves crave on-screen.

The film speaks to the towering endurance of personal anguish that haunts us all when bereft of explanation. It’s a film of confronting the pain of the past, and reconciling with demons that haunt our present. This colorfully written and buoyantly directed film exposes no doubt that Almodóvar’s work is as poignant and pervasive as ever.

As published in The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Feb. 9, 2007

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