Volver

A welcome return to Almodóvar’s female-powered narratives, Volver spotlights a community of strong women striving to overcome the failures or absences of men. The strong-willed Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) and her sister Sole (Lola Dueñas) forge ahead for a better life with little help from the male sex, aided by Raimunda’s teen daugher, their aunt, some plucky neighbors, and their long-lost mother (Carmen Maura), who won’t let having died years ago stop her. Fantasy, black comedy, murder, and family drama exist equally in a film that “moves beyond camp, into a realm of wise, luxuriant humanism” (New York Times).