Volver
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

Review by Ethan Alter

Pedro Almodóvar's "Volver"is the most accessible and crowd-pleasing feature that the acclaimed Spanish auteur has made to date. That's meant as both a compliment and a complaint. On the one hand, it's great to see Almodóvar mining a more comic vein after the emotional tinderboxes that were his last two films: the brilliant "Talk to Her" and the ambitious, if flawed, "Bad Education." At the same time, though, "Volver" never challenges the viewer in the same way those films, or even earlier efforts like "Live Flesh" or "Law of Desire" did. This is not to say that the film lacks any dramatic heft. Part ghost story, part family melodrama , "Volver" deals with such serious subjects as parental abandonment and mother/daughter estrangement with a smattering of incest tossed in for good measure. But the tone is considerably lighter than a description of the material might suggest.

Penélope Cruz heads up a terrific all-female ensemble as Raimunda, a busty, no-nonsense housewife modeled after Sophia Loren and other European screen icons of the '50s and '60s. Raimunda lives in Madrid with her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) and her shiftless husband Paco (Antonio de la Torre), but every year she travels back to the small village where she grew up to sweep her parents' graves. She makes these trips with her uptight elder sister Sole (Lola Dueñas), who is informed by the villagers upon one return visit that the spirit of their not-so-dearly departed mother (Carmen Maura) has been spotted hanging around town. Sole dismisses this talk as simple superstition until she arrives back in Madrid and discovers her mother hiding in the trunk of her car. As it turns out, Mom isn't actually dead, and she wants to take care of some unfinished business, most notably patching up her relationship with her daughters.

"Volver" is bathed in a warm, rich glow that invites you to sit back and let the outside world vanish while Almodóvar spins his yarn. Terrific performances make the film all the more amusing. After a string of disappointing turns in bad Hollywood pictures, Cruz reclaims the promise she showed in such Spanish films as "Abre Los Ojos." It's also delightful to see former Almodóvar muse Maura back in front of his camera again.  Still, for all of the film's pleasures, it's missing the daring creativity that distinguishes the director's best work. "Volver" is eminently enjoyable, just not particularly memorable.