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Coming back (Volver) - Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Pedro Almodóvar

Threat advisory: Guarded - General risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Coming back (Volver) is a meeting of Mildred Pierce and Arsenic and old lace, combined with the surrealistic naturalism of my fourth film, ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto? (What have I done to deserve this?), that is, Madrid and its lively working-class neighbourhoods, where the immigrants from the various Spanish provinces share dreams, lives and fortune with a multitude of ethnic groups and other races. At the heart of this social framework, three generations of women survive wind, fire and even death, thanks to goodness, audacity and a limitless vitality.

They are Raimunda (Penélope Cruz), who is married to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage daughter (Yohana Cobo); Sole (Lola Dueñas), her sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the mother of both (Carmen Maura), who died in a fire along with her husband. This character appears first to her sister (Chus Lampreave) and then to Sole, although the people with whom she has some unresolved matters are Raimunda and her neighbour in the village, Agustina (Blanca Portillo).

Coming back (Volver) is not a surrealistic comedy although it may seem so at times. The living and the dead coexist without any discord, causing situations that are either hilarious or filled with a deep, genuine emotion. It's a film about the culture of death in my native La Mancha. The people there practice it with an admirable naturalness. The way in which the dead continue to be present in their lives, the richness and humanity of their rites mean that the dead never die.

Coming back (Volver) destroys all the clichés about "black" Spain and offers a Spain that is as real as it is the opposite. A Spain that is white, spontaneous, funny, intrepid, supportive and fair.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Coming back (Volver) image

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

  • Film Pedro Almodóvar drama Spain Spanish supernatural death family resolution murder restaurant

Persons of interest

  • Penélope Cruz .... Raimunda
  • Carmen Maura .... Abuela Irene
  • Lola Dueñas .... Sole
  • Blanca Portillo .... Agustina
  • Yohana Cobo .... Paula
  • Chus Lampreave .... Tía Paula
  • Antonio de la Torre .... Paco
  • Carlos Blanco .... Emilio
  • María Isabel Díaz .... Regina
  • Neus Sanz .... Inés
  • Leandro Rivera .... Auxiliar
  • Carlos García Cambero .... Carlos
  • Pedro Almodóvar .... Screenwriter
  • Pedro Almodóvar .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Coming back (Volver) is an entertaining movie but it lacks the zing that would make it exciting. All the ingredients are there: writing and direction by Pedro Almodóvar, performances by Penélope Cruz and Carmen Maura, a little village, the big city, romance, intrigue, murder, denial, lies, cooking... but there isn't enough seasoning to give the dish the zest it needs. It's perfectly filling and tasty, just not hot and spicy.

The Almodóvar, drama, Spain movie Coming back (Volver) is directed by Pedro Almodóvar and stars Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas.

Government security censorship classification

M (Moderate themes, moderate sexual references, moderate drug reference, Infrequent coarse language)

Surveillance time

120 minutes (2:00 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

Film: 21 December 2006

Cinema surveillance images

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