Volver (2006)

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Carmen Maura, Bianca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Yolanda Ramos, Carlos Blanco, Antonio de la Torre. [R]

Family strife, superstitions, ghosts, body disposal, and Almodóvar’s patented zesty celebration of women collide in this absorbing tragicomic concoction. Lurid details make for absurdist comedy as the recently deceased mother (Maura) of sisters Raimunda (Cruz) and Sole (Dueñas) returns from the grave with unfinished business; while Sole deals with that alarming arrival, Raimunda must contend with the dead body of her loutish husband while opening a restaurant and providing catering for a local film crew. The plot is overburdened by detours (there’s also a terminally ill neighbor, a talk show appearance, a senile aunt, and more), and the outlandish particulars of the narrative and wild tonal swings reduce the emotional investment in these characters, yet it has fascinating things to say about family and death, and is as robustly colorful as almost anything else Almodóvar has crafted. Cruz is so poised and confident while struggling to hold it together that it’s hard to look away when she’s onscreen. The title’s English translation: “to return”.

77/100