1207. Volver

Volver
2006
Directed by Pedro Almodovar

I realized that there are two Pedro Almodovar movies left on the List and decided to knock them all both at the same time. My first watch was Volver, and while I didn't love every moment of it, I thought it featured great performances and a fascinating story.

Raimunda and Sole are two sisters living in Madrid whose parents died in a fire a few years before. It's a bit hard to reveal any more plot details without giving away spoilers. Suffice to say, Raimunda will do anything to protect her daughter, and Sole returns home for a funeral and starts to see visions of her mother. 

I always love generational stories, where there isn't necessarily a protagonist. In these stories, a character's position in the family is often more important than who they are as an individual (which is a very unAmerican idea and is interesting to observe as an outsider). I was shocked by some of the twists in the plot and Penelope Cruz is always enchanting.

I think this movie brought some much needed color to this List, and I'm looking forward to watching the other Almodovar movie.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Cruz is the first Spanish actress to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. 

Cruz is dubbed for the singing scene.