Volver on, girlfriend
Just a quick note on Volver, which I duly saw on Friday. Thank you GRS for providing the tickets ! Turned up right on time for the film, so missed out on the sangria, though.
Going to see an Almodovar film I expected to leave the cinema feeling both
a) really, really happy to be a woman
b) really, really sad I'm not Spanish
and Volver certainly delivered.
It's actually utterly hilarious if you're in the right mindset - my dear sweetie would have preferred to have seen Casino Royale, so he'd whisper "this is weird" while I giggled at the hoards of women washing headstones, the excessive kissing noises at every greeting and the local prostitute heading off to work just like everyone else.
It's quite hard to give a brief description on what the film is "about", because Volver has the makings of two films, both happening simultaneously to the central characters. One story focuses on Raimunda and her daughter Paula, while Raimunda's sister Soledad and family friend Augustina are at the center of the other. Still, it all works quite well and obviously the two stories have quite a profound link. So long as you can stand the fact that the two tales appear quite unrelated for the majority of the film, you'll have fun watching it - although a couple of the casually funny offhand remarks turn out to be quite cruel once the mystery is solved.
Basically, it's one part ghost story, one part incest revenge, one part mystery and one part good old fashioned girly buddy film.
Almodovar is obviously aware that anyone watching the film will know that Penelope Cruz wears a prosthetic bottom (the poor girl is a bit lacking in the rump department), so he includes a few gratuitous bending over and booty-shaking shots. When Raimunda walked up or down stairs I was certainly quite transfixed - and now you will be, too. :-)
Overall the bosoms are bountiful, the colours vibrant. Almodovar women are always magnificent, and the main protagonist Raimunda is no exception. You really have to admire her attitude - whenever a problem appears, just roll up your sleeves and dispose of the body. A useful philosophy for any postgrad, I'm sure.
Now I'm hungry and tired. If that didn't make you want to see the film - well, your loss.