Full (2006)

Directed by: Pedro Almodovar | 130 minutes | drama, comedy, adventure | Actors: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Antonio de la Torre, Carlos Blanco, Mª Isabel Díaz, Nieves Sanz Escobar, Leandro Rivera, Yolanda Ramos, Carlos García Cambero, Pepa Aniorte, Elvira Cuadrupani, Alfonsa Rosso, Fanny de Castro, Eli Iranzo, Magdalena Broto, Isabel Ayucar, Concha Galán, Marie Franç Torres, Natalia Roig

The most important thing that keeps recurring in the film (the title ‘Volver’ is derived from this) is the return of the mother’s ghost, which appears to her daughters. The belief in these apparitions is a normal phenomenon in the environment where Almodovar grew up. In the La Mancha region, belief in these paranormal matters is still alive. Almodovar himself does not believe in it, but he did find it an intriguing fact for his film. It has become a nice starting point for a story about both death and the physical return of the spirit of the deceased. In itself, such a fact could quickly lead to a somewhat vague film with occult situations, but this film has by no means turned out to be that. Almodovar deliberately opted for further elaboration in a comedy-like setting. Those humorous elements, in which a corpse is ostentatious and in which a lot of winks and snide smiles are used, make it a story that is pleasantly digestible, but also has a clearly serious undertone. Dealing with death and everything that precedes or follows it thus becomes an everyday occurrence and part of everyday life.

Raimunda is a young mother, has a boyfriend who is out of work, her financial situation is precarious. She has to take on all kinds of jobs to keep the business going. She carries a big secret from her past with her. Her sister Sole runs an illegal hair salon and has been abandoned by her husband who ran off with one of her clients. Paula is her aunt who lives in a village in the La Mancha region. It always blows there. Raimunda and Sole’s parents were killed in one of the many fires. One day, when Raimunda receives a call from Sole that Aunt Paula has died, she cannot come to the funeral, as her daughter has just accidentally killed her unemployed boyfriend with a knife. She wants to protect her daughter, she decides to get rid of the corpse. During Aunt Paula’s funeral, Sole hears from the old villagers a story that her mother’s ghost had returned to care for Aunt Paula in recent years. Is she really a ghost or is there something else going on here? Many developments follow. Augustina, a neighbor, also plays an essential role in the storyline. Augustina has been told she has cancer and will die soon. She goes realistic and dignified here, at the same time, on a sideline of the story, it subtly denounces the way in which emotion TV is operated today by exploiting human dramas. All lives in the story appear to be connected by the mom and dad who died in a fire. A mysterious event in the past plays a leading role in this. This is worked out in a subtle and credible way in the further development of the storyline. For example, ingredients of guilt and penance, processing grief and mourning are all included in this comedy, without it feeling forced.

‘Volver’ is also a tribute to Spanish customs and rites and offers a nice insight into the world and thoughts of residents of the big city and those of simple villagers. Of the latter, many believe that the dead never really die, but that their spirits endure and return. It is amusing to see how people prepare themselves during life for the sometimes still distant death, when we see how people have already selected their future grave and care for and maintain it many years before their death.

Revelations about an illegitimate child and the way it affected the lives of many in this story have an important function. After her ‘return’, mother tells about things the sisters don’t know about each other.

The camera work is magnificent, visually making optimal use of the Spanish countryside. Beautiful images of old and quiet villages on the one hand, which are surrounded by extensive modern wind farms. The wind that always blows over the plateau has its own role in this story.

Penélope Cruz’s playing, but also in the other roles, is strong. ‘Volver’ is a film in a completely different style from ‘Hable con ella’ or ‘La Mala Educacion’ and is therefore difficult to compare. Even those who are not much of an Almodovar fan can now indulge in a completely different kind of film, one with a good portion of humor. Lovers of Spanish cinema, but also those of comedy, will certainly find what they are looking for. Also for those interested in Spanish rites and customs (but also for superstitious people) it is certainly worth a trip to the cinema.