Volver: B+

There is a cult in the world of cinephilia. It is a cult of almost obsessed devotees who's object of fascination is described as "exhilirating", "touching", "funny", and "colorful". I am talking about the Cult of Almodovar, those movie lovers in love with Spanish writer-director Pedro Almodovar. His movies, always stories of wild women overcoming wild obstacles, are hailed as masterpieces practically from the moment they set foot at your local Regal-plex. However there are those who find him overrated, a tad overdone, and quite heavy-handed; more a journeyman than a master.

After I saw his 2003 Oscar-winner Hable Con Ella (Talk To Her) I felt myself more in the latter camp than the former. His scripts, although occasionally sparkling with whimsical funny, seemed both leaden and solid. His characters - as much as he may shower them with quirks, melancholy and disease - were almost too strong for the audience, rarely did I feel a connection, an emotion with the protagonists. With Volver though, his 2006 Cannes Film Festival frenzy-inducing treat, I may just be persuaded to become a cultist.
Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) has a hard life. First her husband is killed, then she starts seeing her dead mother's ghost. All the while she's trying to take over a neighbor's restaurant while juggling raising her only daughter alone! Such a hard road eventually leads her to reconnect with her sister and mother, a plot device Almodovar is just in luff with. What emerges from

Raimunda's life is a muy bizzaro (and muy comico) melodrama. And when I say "melodrama", I mean it in every sense of the word. Certainly there are moments where I recalled Talk To Her, but here Almodovar has hit a new level of power over the audience...with a little help from Senorita Cruz, who here handles herself with such conviction that it pulls you past the times when her life rings false. It must also be said that Pedro Almodovar has smoothed out the pointless wanderings of his filmmaking so that even if Volver is not a great movie, it's a lot of fun to watch.