Though maybe not Almodóvar’s best effort, it’s likely his most accessible (and probably in his top five) as an enjoying tale that is more than satisfying by the time the closing credits roll; though it takes us on more than one tangential trip to get there. Imagining an absurd Hitchcockian thriller with a dash of comedy and brilliant color sort of explains the look and feel of Volver.

Most of Almodóvar’s films showcase his obvious affection of women: the love of women young and old, the struggles of women and their interactions with one another. Volver is certainly no exception – possibly even the most striking example of this tendency. The film focusses on three generations of women and the emphasis of what it means to be a mother, a daughter and a sister. At times, it even borders on being blatantly anti-men. Raimunda (Cruz) is the main protagonist who plays the feisty mother (and a sister and daughter) of a well mannered typical teenage girl. She struggles to keep the family afloat financially as a series of absurd circumstances begin to run amok. The plot runs simultaneously in so many different directions that it’s difficult to succinctly say what the movie is really trying to get at. There’s a death in the family, a murder with the subsequent effort of getting rid of the body, a friend in the hospital, the illegal running of a restaurant and a hair salon and a spiritual resurrection of a central character returning from the dead to help her struggling family in ways she never could have in life. Suffice it to say, this is the point where absurdity takes over – but most definitely in a good way!

Though there’s a lot to cover, Almodóvar brings each path of the storyline together surprisingly well and it’s amazing that it doesn’t crumble into a mess of a plot and wasted talent. There are few writer/directors out there who would be able to pull off this multi-threaded, tangential storyline as well as Almodóvar has. Yes it’s a little loose in the script department and can appear to be slightly disjointed at times as we jump from one thing to the next rather abruptly; but the manner in which it’s held together and displayed almost like a series of one-act plays keeps the film from being cluttered or clunky. Despite the abruptness or forgetful nature of certain aspects in the storyline, the movie flows rather smoothly. If nothing else, the quiet intensity of each sequence brings about a reaction of suspense that certainly should keep the viewer interested to see what happens next.

The performances by everyone involved are remarkable. Almodóvar casts a lot of his usuals here so I hate to single her out, as everyone was quite fantastic, but especially Penélope Cruz. Maybe it’s because she has the most screen time, maybe it’s because she is given the most to deal with on her plate with the amount of emotion and expression and tone shift required of her, or maybe it’s the fact that American audiences are so unfamiliar with her Spanish speaking roles. Whatever it may be, her presence on screen is glorious and her Oscar nomination for this role was no fluke.

Almodóvar loves his auteur use of color; and so do I! Though the story focusses mainly on death, abuse and confusion, the ultimate reward and message by the closing act is complete joy. Therefore the entire film is extremely colorful and bright; from the costumes to the set design. Like our last review in this series (Broken Embraces), Almodóvar uses bright, candy-apple red to attract the viewer’s attention to where he wants it. No shot is put together haphazardly or lazily. Few film makers’ set designs (if any) will be as meticulously and deliberately displayed as Pedro Almodóvar’s. As gaudy and clashing as these costumes and locales would appear in real life, Almodóvar somehow manages to take the garish and make it gorgeous.

This is truly an arthouse drama which focuses mainly on women’s desires, relationships (both personal and business) and the intricacies of mother and daughter hood (as most of Almodóvar’s films do). Despite its accessibility, It’s rather unlikely that upon release it gained much exposure with mainstream America. This is too bad (and something I’m trying to remedy here), as I think most would find this film comedically absurd with a poignancy that is an interesting and captivating piece of motion picture in its seemingly complex storyline and its outstanding performances, direction and art design. If one can dismiss the “annoyance” of subtitles and it is arguable that about 15 minutes of running time could be snipped here and there, Volver is a very rewarding experience and one of my favorite films of the decade.