volver movie review

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How would you like to spend the afterlife? Hanging around in a tunnel of pure light, welcoming new arrivals from among your family and friends? It seems to me a dreary prospect. You'd run out of customers in a generation or two. And how boring to smile and beckon benevolently all the time. My Aunt Martha would more likely be cutting the cards for a game of canasta.

In Pedro Almodovar's enchanting, gentle, transgressive "Volver," a deceased matriarch named Irene ( Carmen Maura ) has moved in with her sister Paula (Chus Lampleave), who is growing senile and appreciates some help around the house, especially with the baking. They live, or whatever you'd call it, in a Spanish town where the men die young, and the women spend weekends cheerfully polishing and tending their graves, just as if they were keeping house for them. In exemplary classic style, Almodovar uses a right-to-left tracking shot to show this housekeeping carrying us back into the past, and then a subtle, centered zoom to establish the past as part of the present.

We meet Raimunda ( Penelope Cruz ) and Sole ( Lola Duenas ), Irene's daughters; Raimunda's daughter, Paula ( Yohana Cobo ), and Paco (Antonio de la Torre), Raimunda's beer-swilling, layabout husband. Two deaths occur closely spaced to upset this happy balance: Aunt Paula keels over, and young Paula repulses an advance by her stepfather Paco using a large, bloody, very Hitchcockian knife. Paco ends up on the kitchen floor, his arms and legs splayed in an uncanny reminder of the body on the poster of Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder."

Where will the ghost of Irene go now? Why, obviously, to the one who needs her most -- Raimunda. This is the setup for a confounding gathering of murder, reincarnation and comedy, also involving Raimunda's almost accidental acquisition of the restaurant where she has one of several part-time jobs.

Almodovar is above all a director who loves women -- young, old, professional, amateur, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, dead, alive. Here his cheerful plot combines life after death with the concealment of murder, success in the restaurant business, the launching of daughters and with completely serendipitous solutions to (almost) everyone's problems. He also achieves a vivid portrait of life in a village not unlike the one where he was born.

"Volver" is Spanish for "to return," I am informed. The film reminds me of Fellini's " Amarcord ," also a fanciful revisit to childhood which translates as "I remember." What the directors are doing, I think, is paying tribute to the women who raised them -- their conversations, conspiracies, ambitions, compromises and feeling for romance. (What Fellini does more closely resembles revenge.) These characters seem to get along so easily that even the introduction of a "dead" character can be taken in stride.

Women see time more as a continuity, anyway, don't you think? Don't you often hear them speaking of the dead in the present tense? Their lives are a continuity not limited by dates carved in stone.

What a distinctive filmmaker Almodovar has become. He is greatly influenced, we are assured, by Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s (especially if that decade had been franker about its secret desires). But he is equally turned on, I think, by the 1950s palette of bright basic colors and cheerful optimism that goes without saying. Here the dominant color is red -- for blood, passion and Pedro.

In this connection, some mention might be made of Cruz's cleavage, including one startling shot also incorporating the murder weapon. It seemed impossible not to mention that shot in an interview at Cannes Film Festival (where the film won honors for best script and ensemble cast). Almodovar nodded happily. "Yes, I am a gay man," he said, "but I love breasts."

What is most unexpected about "Volver" is that it's not really about murder or the afterlife, but simply incorporates those awkward developments into the problems of daily living. His characters approach their dilemmas not with metaphysics but with common sense. A dead woman turns up as a ghost and is immediately absorbed into her family's ongoing problems: So what took her so long?

It is refreshing to see Cruz acting in the culture and language that is her own. As it did with Sophia Loren in the 1950s, Hollywood has tried to force Cruz into a series of show-biz categories, when she is obviously most at home playing a woman like the ones she knew, grew up with, could have become.

For Almodovar, too, "Volver" is like a homecoming. Whenever we are most at ease, we fall most easily and gracefully into our native idioms. Certainly as a young gay man in Franco's Spain, he didn't feel at home, but he felt displaced in a familiar way, and now he feels nostalgia for the women who accepted him as easily as if, well, he had been a ghost.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Volver (2006)

Rated R some sexual content and language

121 minutes

Yohana Cobo as Paula

Penelope Cruz as Raimunda

Blanca Portillo as Agustina

Lola Duenas as Sole

Carmen Maura as Irene

Written and directed by

• Pedro Almodovar

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Volver – review

Cert 15 A gripping melodrama inspired by the trash TV that is a soundtrack to its characters’ lives.

W ith its overwhelming richness, its colour and warmth, Pedro Almodóvar's new movie is set to capture your heart. Volver seemed guilelessly wonderful when I first saw it earlier this year in Cannes. Now it looks even better. The picture's ingenuities and contrivances just seem to float out of the screen, like psychedelic moodshapes. I found myself floating right along with them.

His last two films, Bad Education and Talk To Her, were impressive, though I never quite felt the unconditional rapture of the true Almodóvar believer. This new film, being more modest in its scope, and somehow less obviously extravagant, achieves more with its rhetorical flourishes and narrative display. There is something so playful and gorgeous about it, and certainly something gorgeous about Penélope Cruz: although the film is notable in that romantic love is quite irrelevant. Cruz's beauty appears in an altogether different love-context: that of a mother's passionate love for her daughter.

Volver, (in English, Coming Home or Coming Back), is a gripping melodrama inspired by the trash TV that is a soundtrack to its characters' lives. Penélope Cruz is Raimunda, a hard-working woman with a teenage daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo), and a feckless, layabout husband. With her sister Sole (Lola Dueñas) she tends to the graves of her parents, and visits her ailing Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave), who is heartrendingly in the final stages of dementia. Raimunda's family life shatters with one terrible act of violence, and there is a secret about her late mother Irene (Carmen Maura) that surfaces when Irene returns from beyond the grave to make contact with her astonished daughters.

So Volver is a ghost story. Or is it? As the movie drifts along the periphery of the supernatural, I went into a trance, which Almodóvar induces with a master's confidence. All the movie's secrets are rolled out in a narrative design that is exuberant and elegant. Its cinematography and art direction, by José Luis Alcaine and Salvador Parra, give everything an intensity that, like previous Almodóvar films, has the feel of a Douglas Sirk film. Almodóvar has something of Sirk's passionate empathy with women, mixed with a gay sensibility - though the film is unlike Sirk's in that men are entirely marginal. In its vividness and intense, almost neurotic sensitivity to colour, particularly the colour red, it also looks like a Hitchcock thriller.

There is a wonderful overhead shot of Raimunda washing up a bloodstained knife in the kitchen sink. On the left of the screen, we see the implement of violence in the plastic bowl above the soiled plates, and on the right there is the glistening crown of Raimunda's glorious raven hair and her magnificent cleavage - the size of which her mother is later wonderingly to remark upon, and in which nestles an enamel miniature of the crucified Christ. The image goes beyond camp, and certainly beyond desire, into a feminised world in which work, survival and family love are paramount. A neighbour asks about the bloodstain on her neck, and quick-thinking Raimunda says it is merely "women's trouble": a laugh line that relieves the tension, but is also nothing more nor less than the truth.

When Cruz struts with unselfconscious sexiness through the streets, carrying a rounded, wiggling behind that might almost be prosthetic, she resembles the young Sophia Loren. She moves, however, without the soundtrack of wolf-whistles that earlier ages might have composed for her. There are a couple of men in the picture who are in love with Raimunda, but they are tentative and almost reticent in their adoration.

Her real relationship is with her daughter, her sister, her mother and with her garrulous women-friends and neighbours - all chattering, laughing and, at a funeral, mumbling prayers like a swarm of pious, black-clad bees. But of course, Cruz is intensely engaged with one man: Almodóvar himself, who manages to draw out her presence like a ductile material and spread it all over his movie. Only Cruz could have carried off those hoop earrings, as big as soup-plates, and on anyone else her black top with the flowery design might have looked as if it came from Primark. On her it looks sensational, and its floral motif is carried over into the final credit sequence.

It is this context of beauty, richly sensual without being sexual, that makes the gestures of tragicomedy and passion so affecting. When Raimunda says to her miraculously returned mother: "I don't know how I have lived all these years without you ..." it is absurd, and comic, but also intensely poignant. And as often in the past, Almodóvar makes a song a central moment in the film. Raimunda has abandoned her dreary day jobs to take over an absent friend's restaurant and cater for a visiting movie crew. Here, she impulsively decides to sing to the assembled company a showstopping lament about the return of past lives and loves - an irresistibly generous and emotional event.

No other director has as much swoon factor as Pedro Almodóvar: the texture of his movie-making is quite unique. Volver could have gone on for another hour or two: there seemed so much more to say. What a triumph for this great European director who just seems to get better and better.

• Drama films
• Pedro Almodóvar

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The Definitives

Critical essays, histories, and appreciations of great films

Essay by Brian Eggert November 28, 2021

Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver takes the name of a tango first performed by Carlos Gardel in 1934. Meaning “to return” or “come back,” the film’s title—signaled by the song’s lyrics, “I’m afraid of the meeting, With the past that has returned, To confront my life”—reflects the filmmaker’s longtime obsessions. Almodóvar’s films often dwell on desire, self-discovery, and identity in relation to the haunting presence of Spain’s traumatic past. His intensely personal output teems with national and biographical influences, from allusions to his mother and childhood to his loving appreciation of international cinema—the more melodramatic, the better. Though his influences remain unmistakable, Almodóvar’s artistic inspirations never distract from his wildly distinct perspective. His masterful treatment of Volver encapsulates these many authorial preoccupations, proclivities, and hang-ups, and despite its ambitious layering, the film weaves a luminous and enchanting intertextual tapestry. In the macro, the film addresses the scars of Francoism in the collective memory; in the micro, it explores personal histories afflicted by the return of the repressed. Beautifully shot, structured, and acted, Almodóvar’s film sees the past repeat itself, the dead come back to life, and the painfully concealed return to the fore. Volver is about how things that seem dead and gone are sometimes inextricably part of our lives.  

Volver is difficult to describe, which is typical for a film by Almodóvar. The unclassifiable plot contains rape, murder, terminal cancer, pedophilia, and a ghost, yet the material feels accessible, charming, endearing, and often funny. Its mixture may seem incongruous, but that’s Almodóvar for you. Draw a line to represent every maneuver in the average Almodóvar scenario, and the line would zig-zag every which way. His films contain a blend of genres and tonal shifts that miraculously come together to feel strangely balanced. Their eclecticism is legendary. Although some prove more dramatic or comedic than others, his best films have a bit of everything. His stylistic barroquismo is boundlessly transgressive—a richly composed aesthetic with full consideration of the viewer’s sensuous experience. He taps into every visual, aural, and emotional receptor. Volver alone has elements of Italian Neorealism, Sirkian melodrama, Hitchcockian suspense, and screwball comedy worthy of Howard Hawks. Through the intentional artifice composed of pastiche, genre, kitsch, and allusionism, which combine into a meticulous mise-en-scène , Almodóvar’s stories unfold with all the unpredictability of life. His films usually begin by telling one story only to transition into another one entirely, often by confronting his country’s history with raw emotional realism. The most precise way to describe Volver , then, appears during the opening credits: “Un film de Almodóvar”—a surname so distinct, it needs no given name to clarify it.   

Ghosts and long-held family secrets reside at the film’s center; when revealed, they indicate patterns of behavior and trauma from one generation to the next. For example, questions linger about how Raimunda and Sole’s parents died. As Raimunda tells it, they burned to death in a fire in each other’s arms. The same day marked the disappearance of the mother of a family friend, Agustina (Blanca Portillo), leaving uncertainties about a possible connection between the two events. In the village, Augustina watches over Raimunda and Sole’s elderly Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave), who talks as though her sister Irene, Raimunda and Sole’s mother, were still alive. Locals also claim to have seen Irene’s ghost around their Aunt Paula’s house, which the sisters admit “smells of Mom.” It might be unbelievable, except Aunt Paula is practically blind and incapable of taking care of herself. So who’s cooking and cleaning her house? Irene’s ghost? Other secrets have been buried even deeper. A pattern emerges involving men, particularly fathers, and incest, bringing to mind Chinatown (1972). Secrets notwithstanding, Raimunda doesn’t talk about the past—not her mother, not her father, not how she used to sing. Nevertheless, Volver is a story about Raimunda, a working-class mother from Madrid caught between her past and present, tradition and modernity, the country and the city. Her roots belong to her village and its venerable customs—and the mysteries they hold. But her life in the city, epitomized by her job mopping floors at the newly reconstructed Barajas Airport, represents her desire to fly away from her past.  

Raimunda and Sole belong to a generation that, like Almodóvar, who grew up in rural poverty before moving to the cosmopolitan city, remains divided between worlds—marked by a dual identity, between their traditional past and fast-paced present. The sisters have settled in Madrid, but their origins in the countryside leave them split, while the young Paula, glued to her cell phone, is a product of modernity. But Raimunda and Sole are just old enough to remember the country under Francisco Franco, Spain’s dictator from 1939 to 1975, who enforced an ordered society and the illusion that truth was unequivocal, which made life simple, assuming one conformed to his version of the truth. Of course, the world proved more complex and messy than Franco allowed. When he died in 1975, the end of Francoism brought about the so-called economic miracle in Spain that led to social freedom and material development. Spain in the 1980s became a liberalized and consumer-obsessed culture bent on ignoring rather than untangling the specters of their culture’s shared trauma. Before Almodóvar arrived in 1980 with his debut, Pepi, Luci, Bom , serious Spanish filmmakers received notoriety for remembering the country’s brutal Civil War (1936-1939). The prime example remains Víctor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive (1963), often cited as the greatest Spanish film of all time. After surviving their respective past traumas, Almodóvar and Raimunda focused primarily on escaping their past.

Like many Almodóvar films, Volver uses personal trauma as a metaphor for Franco. The film rushes into Hitchcockian territory when Raimunda returns home one night to find her daughter Paula outside, waiting, drenched by the rain, and visibly shaken. Paco (Antonio de la Torre)—introduced as a layabout who just lost his job, drinks too much, watches sports on the couch, and leers at his teenage daughter—tried to rape Paula. Groping her, he claimed, “I’m not your father,” and she responded by stabbing him. Raimunda finds his body in the kitchen and quickly cleans the crime scene to dispose of the evidence. Almodóvar shoots the sequence of Raimunda soaking up and scrubbing Paco’s blood from the same angles he uses to show her doing housework—as though covering up murder belongs on Raimunda’s list of maternal chores. She takes full responsibility and reminds her daughter, “Remember, I killed him.” In a moment of caught-in-the-act suspense, Emilio (Carlos Blanco), a neighbor who owns an out-of-business restaurant nearby, knocks on Raimunda’s door. In a darkly comic flourish, she explains the blood on her neck dismissively as “women’s problems”—an excuse that suggests menstrual blood but winks that repairing the damages of abusive men is a woman’s burden. Emilio leaves the keys to his restaurant with her in case a potential buyer comes along. There’s a certain whimsy to the way Emilio appears with the keys, unwittingly giving her a place to hide Paco’s corpse in the large restaurant freezer. In an equally whimsical way, a film crew just so happens to be shooting nearby, prompting Raimunda’s offer to cook for them and earn some extra cash to support her daughter in Paco’s absence. Or note how, at almost the exact moment of Paco’s death, Raimunda and Sole’s elderly Aunt Paula passes away in her sleep, prompting the spiritual return of their mother.  

Almodóvar’s use of fantastical coincidence, coupled with shifts in tone and genre throughout Volver , nimbly maneuver from murder story to comic farce to family drama in minutes. He told Marsha Kinder, “You can say my films are melodramas, tragicomedies, comedies or whatever because I used to put everything together and even change genre within the same sequence and very quickly.” When Raimunda enlists her daughter to carry Paco’s body next door to hide it in the restaurant’s freezer, there’s a certain macabre humor in their clumsy luck. It channels Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) or The Trouble with Harry (1955), just as their desperation proves empathetic and gravely serious. And later, after Sole attends Aunt Paula’s funeral without her sister, a screwball subplot involves the ghost of her mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), who has returned to Madrid with Sole. Is she a literal ghost, or merely ghostly in the sense that she has returned from the distant past? Sole—who operates a beauty parlor out of her apartment, where Irene poses as a Russian immigrant who cannot speak Spanish—seems unconcerned about the distinction and bewildered by her mother’s return. Hilarious scenes set inside the parlor, where the wide-eyed Sole attempts to conceal Irene’s presence by loudly and awkwardly announcing Raimunda’s arrival so their mother can hide under the bed, do not distract from Raimunda’s more dramatic arc. They highlight it. When Raimunda thinks she smells her mother’s phantom farts in Sole’s apartment, the moment is funny but also heartrending when her olfactory senses connect with cherished memories of her mother’s flatulence, conjuring tears. 

Raimunda is one of Almodóvar’s many characters who occupies a distinctly Spanish state of progressing from the past to the present, from the traditional to the modern, the repressive to expressive, the country to the city, from here to there. In most of Almodóvar’s twenty-first-century films, his protagonists must explore their pasts, usually by traveling to the country or returning to the home of a long-lost friend or family member. This is true of All About My Mother (1999), Talk to Her (2002), Bad Education (2004), Broken Embraces (2009), Julieta (2016), and Pain and Glory (2019). Given that Spain’s post-Franco rush toward globalization has made the countryside a signifier of the past, journeying to a village in an Almodóvar film means reconnecting with a former life—a literary motif true in most fiction. There, his characters search for love, work, answers, family, and escape. People like Raimunda must travel to maintain connections with their past, both geographical and cultural. But the past does not exist in a bubble; the massive wind farms on the drive to Alcanfor de las Infantas show how technology has changed since Don Quixote was chasing windmills. Almodóvar’s characters are always in the process of realizing that some aspect of their lives is unresolved and unfinished, in a state of flux from something old to something new. Symbolically, they are rural and migrant subjects who have moved into urban and modern spaces only to encounter cultural differences. They engage with otherwise marginalized and taboo characters such as transgender people, sex workers, terrorists, drug addicts, sexual predators, and even the occasional psychopath—figures either scarred by or associated with the country’s traumatic past. Yet, Almodóvar humanizes what would have been intolerable under Francoism, embracing difference with the postmodern necessity for cultural fluidity. 

Volver’s most famous scene takes place during the film crew’s lavish wrap party at the restaurant. Raimunda realizes that her daughter has never heard her sing; she has repressed that part of herself, along with so much of her past. Overcome by nostalgia, she performs “Volver,” whose lyrics underscore Raimunda’s impending reunion with her mother and a forgotten part of herself. As she sings, her eyes filling with joyful tears, Almodóvar’s regular cinematographer José Luis Alcaine pans over various generations watching the performance, suggesting how the music has brought them together. Raimunda remains unaware that her mother watches from Sole’s car nearby, but she senses her uncanny presence. Cruz convincingly lip-syncs the song, performed by contemporary flamenco singer Estrella Morente, marking the convergence of cultures, generations, and perspectives that coexist through expression. The song comes from an Argentina-born singer who lived in France, and it’s performed in a restaurant with Hispanic motifs, from music to mojitos. Regina (María Isabel Díaz), the undocumented Latin American immigrant and prostitute, provides Raimunda with an authentic mojito recipe—not to mention the perfect criminal accomplice to bury Paco’s body. After learning about the murder, Regina dares not inform on Raimunda out of fear of capture, so she shrewdly negotiates a job bartending at the restaurant and quickly becomes a trusted ally. Almodóvar’s interest in the Spanish transnational community is apparent in his many international reference points, which denote Spain’s new state of liberal multiculturalism. Still, these themes remain secondary to Raimunda’s open-hearted performance and realization that she belongs to a larger community than she realized. 

The similarities between Volver and What Have I Done to Deserve This ? underscore the presence of several longtime Almodóvar collaborators. Penélope Cruz, of course, started acting for the director in Live Flesh and would continue to appear in many other films, including All About My Mother , Broken Embraces , I’m So Excited (2016), and Parallel Mothers (2021). But more importantly, Volver ends a seventeen-year break between the director and Carmen Maura, his muse for many of his most formative early films. Along with Chus Lampreave, who appears as Aunt Paula, Maura was a fixture in Almodóvar’s films throughout the 1980s. She starred in his edgy debut, Pepi, Luci, Bom , and also many of his breakout successes, such as Dark Habits , Matador (1986), Law of Desire (1987), and perhaps his biggest international success in his early period, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). For those versed in Almodóvar’s filmography, Maura and Lampreave feel like literal and symbolic figures from the past who have returned to haunt Volver —in Maura’s case, pretending to be a ghost as Irene. How appropriate, given Maura’s status as a revenant figure from Almodóvar’s filmography. With younger but no less significant faces in Almodóvar’s career, Maura and Lampreave’s presence complements those of Cruz and Lola Dueñas, making the film a rare merging of collaborators from the past, present, and future. 

Maura’s presence never overshadows Cruz, whose best performances have been under Almodóvar’s direction. Hollywood has rarely made good use of Cruz’s talent and range, reducing her to sexpot or love interest roles in many bland blockbusters. Her performance in Volver is arguably her best, earning her an Oscar nomination and a Goya win. Almodóvar models her appearance after the working-class women at the center of so many Luchino Visconti or Vittorio De Sica films starring Sophia Loren or Anna Magnani. In Volver , the director shows Irene watching Visconti’s Bellisima (1951) on television. The brief glimpse of Magnani mirrors Cruz’s appearance as Raimunda—her dark hair pulled back; her cleavage accentuated; her wardrobe comprised of simple, colorful outfits. Beautiful though she is, Almodóvar and Cruz avoid turning Raimunda into a product of the male gaze. Raimunda’s complexity and evident history capture both the performance’s range and the character’s realistic human detail. Her short temper and duty-bound exhaustion, compounded by her recent need to hide Paco’s body, create a hard surface that softens in rare moments. “Cruz almost perfectly embodies the confluence of realism and hyper-stylized fiction so central to [Almodóvar’s] work,” notes critic Carla Marcantonio. She becomes a maternal, protective figure derived from the director’s memories of his mother and his experiences with Italian Neorealism and melodrama. It’s no wonder he continued to cast Cruz as mother figures, most notably as a stand-in for his mother in Pain and Glory , followed by her central role in Parallel Mothers .  

Volver is characteristic of Almodóvar’s later work through the recognition of the trauma that many of his early films actively ignored. But he told the New York Times in 2004, “Everything I am is a response to this place [Spain].” Men supply the familiar signs of physical and psychic scars inflicted on the country by the Civil War and forty years of Franco’s rule. Specifically, the father who raped Raimunda and cheated on Irene with Augustina’s mother only to be burned alive; there is also the stepfather who attempted to rape Paula only to be murdered and buried in secret. After decades of repressing its past, Spain is still maturing out of its enforced infancy and naivety under Franco, still finding ways to move beyond its relationship with its abusive father. Franco’s memory still haunts Spain even though he is dead and buried, much like Paco and Raimunda’s father. And those who dwell on the past, like Augustina, allow the trauma to eat away at them, symbolized by her terminal cancer—even if her obsessive investigation of their history leads to Raimunda’s reconciliation. The film sees the necessity of healing and growth out of trauma, as opposed to outright rebellion. Moreover, it recognizes the capacity for women to share in their trauma and better understand each other and their histories. Almodóvar acknowledges the necessity of the past and, as the titular song’s lyrics suggest, “to live, with the soul bound to a sweet memory.” People are products of their past, and understanding the melancholic relationship between past trauma and present conditions allows for healing conversations. 

Look at the filmography of Pedro Almodóvar, and there’s a clear progression from his cinematic independence and defiance of Franco to his unburdening of the past. Some of his films reflect the comical and delightfully transgressive Almodóvar; others, the more severe and matured filmmaker. Most of his films, and his most complex and narratively intricate, such as Volver , offer examples of both sides. Accented by untold visual pleasures, passionate characters, and emotional intelligence, the film comes from a filmmaker who, in his late fifties at the time, started to look back and make peace as Raimunda does. His mastery of pastiche finds him incorporating influences from the past to discover new uses for melodrama and realism—familiar cinematic expressions that become reframed by his intertextual agenda. Almodóvar’s persistent allusionism reflects how his characters mine their past to understand the present; they embrace traditions and liberate their trauma to move beyond Francoism and its patriarchal dominance of Spain. Volver rests on a tender community of women who were forced together due to their trauma, and the film’s unlikely optimism comes out of how they resolve to share their histories and memories.  

Bibliography:

Besas, Peter. Behind the Spanish Lens: Spanish Cinema under Fascism and Democracy . Arden Press, 1985.

Gutiérrez-Albilla, Julián Daniel. Aesthetics, Ethics and Trauma in the Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar . Edinburgh University Press, 2017.

Kinder, Marsha, and Pedro Almodóvar. “Pleasure and the New Spanish Mentality: A Conversation with Pedro Almodóvar.” Film Quarterly , vol. 41, no. 1, University of California Press, 1987, pp. 33–44, https://doi.org/10.2307/1212326. Accessed 25 October 2021. 

—. “Reinventing the Motherland: Almodóvar’s Brain-Dead Trilogy.” Film Quarterly , vol. 58, no. 2, University of California Press, 2004, pp. 9–25, https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2004.58.2.9. Accessed 25 October 2021. 

Marcantonio, Carla. “Review: Volver .” Cinéaste , vol. 31, no. 4, Cineaste Publishers, Inc., 2006, pp. 77–79, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41690411. Accessed 25 October 2021. 

Ochoa, Debra J. “Music and Migratory Subjects in Almodóvar’s ‘Todo Sobre Mi Madre, Hable Con Ella’, and ‘Volver.’” Confluencia , vol. 29, no. 2, University of Northern Colorado, 2014, pp. 129–41, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43490040. Accessed 25 October 2021. 

Pingree, Geoff. “Pedro Almodóvar and the New Politics of Spain.” Cinéaste , vol. 30, no. 1, Cineaste Publishers, Inc., 2004, pp. 4–8, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41689799. Accessed 25 October 2021. 

Richards, Arlene Kramer, et al. (editors). Pedro Almodóvar: A Cinema of Desire, Passion and Compulsion . International Psychoanalytic Books, 2018. 

Straus, Frederick (editor). Almodóvar on Almodóvar . Revised edition. Faber and Faber, 2006. 

Vernon, Kathleen M. “Melodrama against Itself: Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’” Film Quarterl y, vol. 46, no. 3, University of California Press, 1993, pp. 28–40, https://doi.org/10.2307/1212901. Accessed 25 October 2021. 

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2006 Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

Raimunda lives and works in Madrid with her husband Paco and their daughter Paula. Raimunda's sister Sole lives nearby. The two sisters miss their mother Irene who died several years ago in a house fire along with their father. When a former neighbor from their hometown reports that she has seen the ghost of Irene, the daughters do not believe her. After a murder and a family tragedy, however, Irene's spirit materializes around her daughters to comfort them.

Penélope Cruz Carmen Maura Lola Dueñas Blanca Portillo Yohana Cobo Chus Lampreave Antonio de la Torre Carlos Blanco María Isabel Díaz Lago Neus Sanz Leandro Rivera Pepa Aniorte Yolanda Ramos Elvira Cuadrupani María Alfonsa Rosso Fanny de Castro Eli Iranzo Carlos García Cambero Magdalena Brotto Isabel Ayúcar Concha Galán Mari Franç Torres Natalia Roig Agustín Almodóvar Mila Espiga Luis Lattanzi Valeria Vereau

Director Director

Pedro Almodóvar

Producer Producer

Esther García

Writer Writer

Casting casting.

Luis San Narciso

Editor Editor

José Salcedo

Cinematography Cinematography

José Luis Alcaine

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Rafael Carmona Eva Sánchez Elena Valverde

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Agustín Almodóvar

Lighting Lighting

Fernando Beltrán

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Joaquín Manchado

Production Design Production Design

Salvador Parra

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Special effects special effects.

César Abades

Stunts Stunts

Ángel Plana

Composer Composer

Alberto Iglesias

Sound Sound

José Antonio Bermúdez Manuel Corrales Diego Garrido Manuel Laguna Iván Mayoral Miguel Rejas

Costume Design Costume Design

Bina Daigeler

Makeup Makeup

Ana Lozano Mariló Osuna

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Massimo Gattabrusi

El Deseo Canal+ España TVE Focus Features Sony Pictures Classics

Releases by Date

10 mar 2006, 19 jun 2006, 02 jul 2006, 02 sep 2006, 21 sep 2006, 07 oct 2006, 01 nov 2006, 02 nov 2006, 17 mar 2006, 19 may 2006, 29 jun 2006, 06 jul 2006, 03 aug 2006, 24 aug 2006, 07 sep 2006, 29 sep 2006, 26 oct 2006, 03 nov 2006, 10 nov 2006, 24 nov 2006, 21 jun 2007, 30 jun 2007, 19 jun 2019, 30 oct 2020, 20 apr 2017, 29 nov 2006, 06 sep 2007, 01 apr 2017, releases by country.

• Theatrical 14
• Physical DVD, FilmX
• Theatrical U
• Premiere Cannes Film Festival
• Physical DVD
• Physical Blu-Ray
• Digital VOD
• Theatrical Re-release
• Theatrical 12
• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical T
• Theatrical G Chiyoda, Tokyo
• Theatrical G

Netherlands

• Theatrical AL
• Theatrical M/12

Russian Federation

• Premiere Moscow Film Festival

South Korea

• Theatrical 15
• Premiere Puertollano (Premiere)
• Premiere San Sebastián Film Festival
• Theatrical 輔12級 Re-release
• Premiere Telluride Film Festival
• Premiere New York Film Festival
• Premiere Savannah Film and Video Festival
• Premiere AFIFEST
• Theatrical R Los Angeles, California & New York City, New York

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Popular reviews

Review by indi ★★★★ 5

i think men have like ... maybe ten lines total in this entire film. i feel refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to give back to the community

Review by Vilu ★★★★ 1

Why make movies about men when you can just... do this instead?

Review by pulcrito ★★★★½

Penélope's lip sync was better than anything from the last 9 seasons of drag race.

Review by eduarda marina ★★★★★ 3

the way almodóvar gets human emotions..... the way almodóvar hates men..... the way penelope cruz.....

Review by Holli ★★★★½ 3

penelope cruz boobs

Review by Jacob ★★★★★

"I'll tell you everything."

Perhaps what I love most about good melodrama is the idea that our secrets explain everything. You won't understand this right now, but when I tell you the truth about me, then it will all make sense. Of course, as this is melodrama, I can't simply tell you my secret. It's too horrible, or too big, or just too difficult to speak about. Everyone has their secrets, and it's this constant dilemma both internal and external as to what we share and when we find the strength to do so. In the case of Volver , when we go to the grave with secrets still with us, the truth that haunted us in life now haunts our loved ones. What a strange and beautiful kind of ghost story.

Review by maria ★★★★

penélope cruz: *ends men while looking rad af* me with my phone camera: you're doing amazing sweetie!

Review by persia 🍒 ★★★★

What’s the opposite of a Bechdel test? Because this movie doesn’t pass it at all and I am LIVING FOR IT!

Review by sarah ★★★★★

magic realism.. extremely my shit

Review by Mark Marshall ★★★★

Smelling the farts of your “ghost” mum might be the single wildest plot detail I’ve ever witnessed. This is a beautiful film, farts and all.

Review by flor ★★★★★ 1

—te necesito, mamá. no sé cómo he podido vivir todos estos años sin ti. —no me digas eso, raimunda, que me pongo a llorar. y los fantasmas no lloran.

hace muchísimo quería ver esta película y al fin hoy lo hice, no puedo explicar todo lo que me hizo sentir. solo voy a decir que penélope cruz es la reina y amé verla terminando con los hombres por 2 horas. también amo a almodóvar, ningún hombre puede representar a las mujeres como él. nuestro dolor, nuestras vivencias, las cosas horribles que nos tocan atravesar por el hecho de serlo, la difícil relación entre una madre con su hija y el apoyo que encontramos en otras mujeres.

Review by Jules 🌸 ★★★★ 1

Who's better company than one's mother?

Almodóvar girls. They aren't particulary pretty, distinguished, or morally correct. They are original, free, sincere, passionate, reckless, stubborn, wild, strong, fighters, self-sufficient... and alone. But not in a bad way; they are the ones responsible of their fate, totally independent. And even if they rely on a masculine figure at first, these women will always find a way to break these ties and set free.

I'm saying all this because I think Volver is the movie with the most ''Almodóvar'' group of women. As the director himself said: ''The film is about three generations of women who survive the wind, the fire, the madness, the superstition and even death based on kindness and boundless…

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By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

There is no director alive more connected to the hearts, minds and mysteries of women than Spain’s Pedro Almodovar. With a string of masterworks stretching from Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown to All About My Mother and Talk to Her , Almodovar is a filmmaker worth following anywhere. In Volver (“return”), a movie that leaps off the screen to take its place in your dreams, the writer-director tells a ghost story that manages to include lust, incest, rape and murder. You’ll laugh, too — wildly, helplessly — because to Almodovar, laughter is life.

The opening scene is set in La Mancha (Almodovar’s birthplace), at a cemetery where Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) and her sister Sole (Lola Duenas) fight the wind to clean the gravestones of their parents, who died in bed in a fire. Or did they? Almodovar keeps his movie as intimate as a whisper that makes us lean in to uncover its dark secrets.

For starters, the sisters have an aunt (Chus Lampreave) who claims their mom, Irene (the miraculous Carmen Maura reunited with Almodovar after seventeen years), has returned from the dead to take care of her. No one doubts it, especially Sole, who passes off Irene as a Russian and puts her to work in the illegal beauty salon she runs in her apartment.

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When Raimunda is around, ghost mom hides under a bed, coming out to help only when Raimunda’s teen daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) claims to have stabbed Raimunda’s husband, Paco (Antonio de la Torre), when he tried to rape her. That’s when Raimunda hides the body in a freezer in a restaurant, where she serves food to a visiting film crew. Throw in neighbor Augustina (Blanca Portillo), who’s dying of cancer but not before she adds a new twist.

Got that? No matter. Plot is merely Almodovar’s way into the souls of his women. With the help of six extraordinary actresses, who shared the acting prize at Cannes, Almodovar crafts one of the year’s best films. Cruz, never more voluptuous (think Sophia Loren in Two Women ) or vulnerable, is a force of nature fully deserving her Oscar buzz. She’s that good. Volver is Almodovar’s passionate tribute to the community of women — living and dead — who nurtured him. Through the transformative power of his art — carried on the wings of Alberto Iglesias’ exhilarating score — we feel their presence. You do not want to miss this one.

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Volver (Spain, 2006)

All the world is in love with Almodovar, or at least so he would have us believe. His full name is Pedro Almodovar, but no one bothers with the first name, least of all Pedro. His movies trumpet "A Film by Almodovar" with pride, and his latest, Volver , is no exception. Although not on par with the Spanish director's best movies (which include Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!,Live Flesh, All About My Mother , and Talk to Her ), Volver represents a return to form after the disappointment that was Bad Education . This feature, which could be considered a ghost story, combines drama and absurdist comedy in the genre-bending manner Almodovar is known for. Although Volver has a tendency to stray too far down tangential paths, it is ultimately satisfying.

One could argue that Volver is a good soap opera. Indeed, its lurid secrets and surprise revelations grip us in much the same way as a sudsy TV series. We can't wait to see how certain things are going to turn out. This is a little unusual for Almodovar, but he proves to be a master of this approach. Along the way, there's plenty of off-center comedy. The director has matured over the years. His productions have become less garish, but he has lost little of his flair for the absurd.

The film opens with a scene in a graveyard - appropriate for a ghost story. Women are shown cleaning off headstones that are being covered by dust from a relentless windstorm. Here we meet Raimunda (Penelope Cruz); her sister, Sole (Lola Duenas); and her teenage daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo). They are caring for the graves of their mother and father, who died together four years ago in a fire. Also among the tombstones is Agustina (Blanca Portillo), who is cleaning off the future site where she intends to be buried. She is an old neighbor of Raimunda and the two have a shared past.

From this point, the plot spins off in numerous directions. There's a murder and Raimunda must figure out what to do with the body. There's a death in the family that further complicates matters. Raimunda finds her true calling in life in operating a restaurant, but is doing so illegally. Then there's the surprise appearance of Raimunda and Sole's mother, Abuela Irene (Carmen Maura), who makes her return from the dead in the trunk of Sole's car.

As usual, Almodovar draws strong performances from all of his actors. Returning "regulars" Penelope Cruz and Carmen Maura are in top form. Neither has any difficulty with the frequent shifts in tone. With her wide eyes and bemused expression, Lola Duenas is a solid addition. (She had a small part in Talk to Her .) Newcomer Yohana Cobo proves to be a real find. Her dialogue is limited, but she's on screen for a large percentage of scenes, and she leaves an impression.

The main storyline of Volver is engaging, but the film's seemingly random tangents will interfere with some viewers' enjoyment of the movie as a whole. Volver is a little too long; while "character building" sequences such as Raimunda's opening a restaurant provide additional definition for the protagonist, they interrupt the flow of the primary plot. The overall effect is not unpleasant, but this is not the tightest script Almodovar has directed. In recent years, the director has made a new film every two to three years, and the movies almost always play several major festivals before receiving a general release. Volver is worth a trip to a local art house.

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Exploring the Themes of Family, Death, and Forgiveness in Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’

Pedro Almodóvar ‘s “Volver” is a deeply emotional and thought-provoking film that explores various themes such as family, death, and forgiveness. Set in Spain , the movie tells the story of a family of strong-willed women who come together to confront their painful past and try to move on. Through the struggles and triumphs of the characters, Almodóvar weaves a complex narrative that delves into the complexities of human relationships and the power of forgiveness. In this article, we will take a closer look at these themes and how they are portrayed in the film.

Pedro Almodóvar ‘s “Volver” is a deeply emotional and thought-provoking film that explores various themes such as family, death, and forgiveness. Set in Spain , the movie tells the story of a family of strong-willed women who come together to confront their painful past and try to move on. Through the struggles and triumphs of the characters, Almodóvar weaves a complex narrative that delves into the complexities of human relationships and the power of forgiveness. In this article, we will take a closer look at these themes and how they are portrayed in the film.

Introduction to Pedro Almodóvar and his film ‘Volver’

Pedro Almodóvar is a Spanish filmmaker known for his colorful and eccentric films that explore themes of family, relationships, and sexuality. His film “Volver” follows the story of a group of women in a small Spanish town as they deal with the aftermath of a tragic event. The film features strong female characters and touches on themes of death, grief, and motherhood. Almodóvar’s unique style, which blends drama and comedy, creates a touching and thought-provoking film that is both entertaining and emotionally resonant.

The role of family and motherhood in the film

In Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’, the role of family and motherhood takes center stage as the story revolves around a strong matriarchal family unit. The main character, Raimunda, is a devoted mother who is willing to do anything to protect her family. The film explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, and the ways in which women can both support and betray each other. Almodóvar’s portrayal of family dynamics is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and serves as a reminder of the importance of family bonds in our lives.

The themes of death and reincarnation

Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’ explores the themes of death and reincarnation in a unique and profound way. The film tells the story of a group of women who are brought together by the tragic death of a family member. Throughout the movie, the characters grapple with grief, loss, and the idea of life after death. Almodóvar’s use of humor and irony helps to lighten the tone of the film, while still allowing the viewer to connect with the characters’ emotional journeys. Ultimately, ‘Volver’ is a powerful meditation on the cyclical nature of life and the possibility of rebirth after death.

The representation of women and femininity

Pedro Almodóvar ‘s ‘Volver’ is a film that represents women and femininity in a complex and nuanced way. The film features an all-female cast and explores issues of motherhood, friendship, and domestic violence. Almodóvar portrays his female characters in a way that is both empowering and challenging. His female characters are strong and resilient, yet also vulnerable and flawed. The film challenges traditional gender roles and stereotypes, and presents a diverse range of female experiences. Almodóvar’s representation of women and femininity in ‘Volver’ is a testament to his skill as a filmmaker and his commitment to exploring complex themes with nuance and sensitivity.

The exploration of tradition and modernity in Spanish society

Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’ explores the tension between tradition and modernity in Spanish society. The film portrays the lives of three generations of women who are struggling to reconcile their past with their present. The characters are all deeply rooted in Spanish traditions, but they are also trying to move forward and embrace modernity. Almodóvar uses humor and irony to highlight the absurdity of some traditional beliefs while also respecting the importance of cultural heritage. Through his depiction of the complex relationship between tradition and modernity, Almodóvar captures the essence of Spanish society in a way that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

The use of color and imagery in the film

Pedro Almodóvar ‘s ‘Volver’ is a masterpiece when it comes to the use of color and imagery in the film. The director has used vibrant colors like red and yellow to create a lively and cheerful atmosphere to contrast with the dark theme of death and ghosts. The use of mirrors, shadows, and reflections adds a layer of mystery and intrigue to the story. The symbolism of the windmills in the background and the repeated image of a woman’s face painted on a gravestone enhances the film’s themes of memory, death, and family ties. Overall, the use of color and imagery in ‘Volver’ is a masterclass in cinematography that enhances the storytelling and elevates the film to a higher level.

The role of music and sound in creating atmosphere and emotion

The role of music and sound in creating atmosphere and emotion cannot be overstated. In Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’, the music and sound play a crucial part in building the atmosphere of the film. The use of flamenco music, for instance, creates a sense of cultural specificity and evokes a powerful emotional response in the audience. Sound effects are also used to great effect, such as the sound of a knife being sharpened, which foreshadows the violence to come. Without the careful use of music and sound, the film would not have been able to fully convey the themes of family, loss, and redemption that are at its core.

The portrayal of small-town life and community

In Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver,’ the portrayal of small-town life and community is a major theme throughout the film. Almodóvar expertly captures the dynamics of a small Spanish village and its inhabitants, highlighting the interconnectedness of its people. From the bustling market to the local cemetery, ‘Volver’ showcases the importance of community and how it can both support and constrain individuals. Almodóvar also explores the concept of family and how it extends beyond blood relations, as the women in the film band together to support each other through thick and thin. Overall, ‘Volver’ offers a poignant and heartfelt portrayal of small-town life and the beauty of community.

The use of humor and satire in addressing serious themes

Pedro Almodóvar ‘s film ‘Volver’ is a perfect example of how humor and satire can be used to address serious themes. The film deals with issues such as death, family secrets, and female empowerment, but does so with a light-hearted touch that makes it both entertaining and thought-provoking. Almodóvar’s use of witty dialogue and absurd situations allows the audience to explore these themes in an engaging and accessible way, while still being challenged by the underlying messages of the story. By combining humor and satire with serious themes, ‘Volver’ becomes a unique and memorable film that leaves a lasting impact on its viewers.

The film’s connections to Almodóvar’s broader body of work and Spanish cinema more generally

Pedro Almodóvar ‘s ‘Volver’ is a film that is deeply connected to the director’s broader body of work and the wider Spanish cinema. Like many of his previous films, ‘Volver’ explores the themes of family, love, and female empowerment. Additionally, the film is set in La Mancha, the home region of Almodóvar, which is a recurring location in many of his films. The film also features several familiar faces from Spanish cinema, including Penélope Cruz and Carmen Maura , both of whom have worked with Almodóvar on multiple occasions. Overall, ‘Volver’ is a testament to Almodóvar’s unique vision and his place as one of Spain ‘s most important filmmakers.

For more information about Themes in Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’, including movie details, cast information, etc.. check out the filmaffinity page .

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Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) came from a tiny village in La Mancha, Spain and, now, lives a mundane existence in Madrid with her pubescent daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo), and layabout husband, Carlo (Antonio de la Torre), working as a cleaning lady to pay the bills. Her life is about to change when Carlo sexually assaults Paula and the girl stabs him to death. Raimunda’s maternal instincts kick in and she acts to protect her daughter, hiding the body in the deep freezer at her friend’s failing restaurant. Her decision becomes the catalyst for changes to the three generations of her femme family in “Volver.”

Laura's Review: B+

Raimunda (Penélope Cruz, "Gothika," "Sahara") is a hard-working woman with a teenaged daughter and layabout husband. She returns to her home town in La Mancha with her single sister Sole (Lola Dueñas, "Talk to Her," "The Sea Inside") to tend to the graves of her parents, who died in a fire years ago, and visit Tía Paula (Chus Lampreave, "Talk to Her"). Family friend and neighbor Agustina (Blanca Portillo) keeps an eye on the old woman and knows what Sole soon discovers - that Raimunda and Sole's mother, Irene (Carmen Maura, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," "Free Zone"), has been "Coming Back (Volver)." Writer/director Pedro Almodóvar ("Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," "Talk to Her") reunites with his "Women on the Verge" star, Carmen Maura, and gives Penelope Cruz a showcase in which to strut her stuff in his best female-centric film in years. After the amazing "Talk to Her," "Volver" may be Almodóvar-lite, even dealing with death as it does, yet it's delightfully nutty, like a comedic "Mildred Pierce" directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Raimunda is astonished to discover her daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo, "The 7th Day"), waiting for her at the bus stop, but turns immediately supportive and business-like when she finds out why - her husband, Paco (Antonio de la Torre, "The 7th Day"), had designs on her daughter who killed him in defense, leaving a bloody mess in mom's kitchen. When neighbor Emilio (Carlos Blanco) stops by that same evening to ask Raimunda to show his restaurant to an interested seller in his absence, he notices the blood smeared across her neck and asks if she is hurt. 'No, it's just woman troubles' answers Raimunda. Indeed. When Aunt Paula passes, Sole is shocked when Raimunda says she cannot possibly attend the funeral, so Sole ventures back to La Mancha, where the winds are known to drive people mad, alone and has her own encounter with mama. She brings Irene back with her, explaining her presence as a hired Russian woman in her hairdressing business, but while Paula knows her grandmother is stashed at Soles, they hide her presence from Raimunda. 'It really hurts when a daughter doesn't love her mother' Irene explains to Paula. Meanwhile, Raimunda impulsively takes over Emilio's restaurant and begins cooking for a local film crew whose director has a taste for more than her cooking, but when she returns to La Mancha to rid herself of her husband's body (she buries him at the spot where they first met), Agustina, who is battling cancer, begins to press her for information about her mother's disappearance. Raimunda claims ignorance, but Agustina's perseverance will unravel an old mystery with parallels to Raimunda's life. Almodóvar, who tricked his star out with a prosthetic rear to give her the right look, is clearly reveling in his female cast - his affection is writ all over the screen and his camera (cinematography by José Luis Alcaine, "Bad Education") cheekily accentuates their curves. Yet he's allowed "Volver" to sprawl a bit too much, with subplots (Agustina's trash TV sister is a totally unnecessary character) that add little and others that go nowhere (the obvious attraction between Raimunda and the film director is simply dropped). Raimunda herself goes from working two or three jobs to running a restaurant without missing a beat, then leaves that too when confronted by Emilio. But Cruz is glorious to watch here, all voluptuous emotion and energy, a sure fire Best Actress nominee. Just looking at her recent filmography, it's clear she should stick to European cinema - the U.S. just doesn't know how to utilize her talents. Almodóvar even gives her a song - 'Volver' - and the actress runs away with it. Carmen Maura is a funny, maternal ghost in a performance that plays like Anne Meara crossed with Anne Bancroft and Almodóvar newbie Portillo has real presence. Production design is bright and splashy if not quite the candy pop of Almodóvar past. He makes great use of his La Mancha locations, using its famous wind farms as a symbol of madness, just like Quixote's famous windmill.

Robin's Review: B+

Almodovar continues his loving homage to women with a charmingly complex and magical tale that starts out like a Alfred Hitchcock film with Raimunda hiding, at first, her dead husband, then getting rid of his corpse. The voluptuous Penelope Cruz, acting out of her usual characters, gives a funny, physical performance that enhances the black humor of “Volver”. But, this is only the tip of the iceberg as the killing begins the turning point that affects radical change in Raimunda’s life. Then, there is Raimunda’s relationship with her younger sister Sole (Lola Duenas); their not-with-it-but-somehow-manages-to-get-along-all-by-herself Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave) who claims her dead sister’s (their mother’s) spirit takes care of her; the chance to have a job she loves and be her own boss; her friendship with Agustina (Blanca Portillo) who is battling cancer; and her resolution of long simmering hidden secrets that free la femme famille. Sure, it’s like a soap opera but that can be a good thing. Almodovar gets it right with a good story (by the director) and spot on ensemble acting nicely led by star Cruz. I have always had a thing for this beautiful actress ever since the helmer’s 1988 film, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” and that thing” continues unabated. Penelope shows outstanding screen presence in “Volver” and gives an award worthy performance, breathing life into Raimunda. It helps that she is surrounded by a mature, talented supporting cast - Duenas, Lampreave, Portillo Carmen Maura as long lost mother, Irene – who provide richly full bodied characters. Techs are solid and natural feeling with cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine doing Almodovar’s obsession with the female derriere justice. Score, by Alberto Iglesias, art direction (Salvador Parra) and the rest of the behind the lens crew lend well to the director. We saw “Volver” on a wild and wooly night in an odd cinema in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland (not a shabby place to be) but, for a couple of hours, I was transported to Pedro’s Spain.

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"Keeping Family Secrets Brings Pain"

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(PaPa, C, B, H, O, Ho, LL, VV, S, NN, AA, DD, MM) Mixed pagan worldview with Christian, moral, humanist, pagan, and occult elements jumbled together, plus two crude references to lesbian sex; seven obscenities (including one "f" word), three strong profanities, three light profanities, and woman sits down on toilet; strong implied violence as woman cleans up and hides accidental stabbing death with pools of blood shown and bloody paper towels shown; man spies on stepdaughter while she undresses, talk about woman working as prostitute to make ends meet, talk about past forced incest, and implied masturbation; brief upper female nudity, side female nudity as woman sits down on toilet, upper male nudity in one scene, and female cleavage; alcohol use and woman appears a bit tipsy during party; smoking and side female character starts to smoke marijuana in one scene; and, lying, accidental death is covered up, murder is covered up, incest and attempted incest are covered up, dead body buried to hide accidental death, and family members keep secrets.

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VOLVER is an accomplished, sometimes poignant Spanish movie that at times reminds one of the macabre stories on the old American TV show, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. It is more than that, however. It also gives viewers an insight into the culture of Spanish families living in the windswept region of La Mancha, many of whom have migrated into the working-class neighborhoods of Madrid. Because of their Roman Catholic background, the people have a strong respect for the dead (and death itself), but they also have a superstitious pagan, occult belief in ghosts. This superstition drives some of the movie’s more comical moments.

Penelope Cruze stars as Raimunda, who visits her senile Aunt Paula in La Mancha with her teenage daughter, also named Paula, and her sister, Soledad or Sole. Raimunda asks Aunt Paula’s neighbor, Agustina, to keep watch on her aunt. Agustina says she already has been keeping watch and tells Raimunda that there have been sightings of Raimunda and Sole’s dead mother’s ghost, who died in a fire with their father four years earlier.

Back in Madrid, Raimunda learns that her husband, Paco, has been fired from his job. They get into an argument. Unknown to Raimunda and her daughter, Paula, Paco likes to spy on his daughter while she undresses. Then, one night, Raimunda comes home to find that Paula accidentally stabbed Paco to death when he tried to rape her. As coincidence would have it, their neighbor Emilio has given Raimunda the keys to his corner restaurant, which Emilio has closed down. He wants Raimunda to keep watch on the restaurant while he goes away and tries to find a buyer. Raimunda hides Paco’s body in the restaurant freezer and orders Paula not to breathe a word about what happened. She assures Paula that Paco was not her real father, and that her real father is dead.

Things begin to change for Raimunda. While she’s in the restaurant making sure Paco’s body has frozen, a man appears, saying that he’s shooting a movie nearby. The crew is looking for a dinner at the end of the day’s shooting, he tells her. Raimunda agrees to serve the crew dinner, but just then Agustina calls to tell Raimunda that her aunt has died. Raimunda tells her sister Sole that she cannot go to the funeral and asks her to go instead. While at the funeral, Sole thinks she sees her mother’s ghost. Back in Madrid, her mother’s ghost calls from the trunk of her car to be let out. There, to Sole’s surprise, is her mother. Sole thinks it’s her mother’s ghost, but this is a strange apparition that feels corporeal. Thus, Sole is able to hug her mother.

Sole hides her mother in her apartment and passes her off as a Russian hairdresser she’s hired to help her in the illegal beauty shop she runs out of her apartment. She is careful, however, not to let Raimunda see her mother or the “Russian helper.” This unleashes some humorous misunderstandings. Eventually, however, the truth emerges, painful memories are evoked, and another tale of incest and murder is revealed.

VOLVER, which means “coming back” in Spanish, has a mixed worldview with pagan, humanist, occult, and Christian elements. Christians with a biblical view of ghosts probably will guess the mystery behind the movie’s plot, but VOLVER is more interested in revealing the poignant relationships behind the mystery. As such, it is a very good movie that will grab hold of viewers once things start to happen. One of the movie’s more interesting aspects is its ability to portray the occult superstitions of the people of La Mancha, especially Agustina and Sole, in a way that keeps Christians, atheists and other people who don’t believe in ghosts guessing. Is there something supernatural going on or not? The tale of infidelity, incest and murder lying at the heart of the movie’s mystery shows how keeping secrets about past sins affects our most intimate family relationships. The movie also shows, however, that simple acts of kindness may be the most important way in which people should relate to one another.

VOLVER may win some awards this season for its subtle, unique story of family secrets. Even so, its story deals with mature themes and sinful acts that are not totally resolved in a positive moral, biblical or Christian manner. The movie also contains foul language and brief nudity. MOVIEGUIDE®, therefore, advises extreme caution.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

• After her death, a mother returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn't resolve during her life.
• Raimunda, her daughter Paula and her sister Sole travel from Madrid to the windy and superstitious village of Alcanfor de las Infantas to visit the grave of their mother Irene, who died years ago in a fire with her husband. Then they visit Irene's sister Paula, an old senile aunt that raised Raimunda after the death of her parents that insists to tell them that Irene is alive and living with her; later, they go to the house of her neighbor and friend Agustina, who gives a support to Paula. They return to Madrid, and after a hard day of work, Raimunda meets her daughter completely distraught at the bus stop waiting for her. When they arrive home, Paula tells her mother that she killed her unemployed father Paco, who was completely drunk and tried to rape her. While Raimunda hides his body, Sole calls her to tell that their beloved aunt Paula has died. The next morning, Sole travels alone to the funeral, and when she returns to Madrid, she finds her mother hidden in the trunk of her car. She brings Irene to her apartment, where secrets from the past are disclosed. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Having weathered a series of bad relationships and traumas, Raimunda and her sister Sole remain close as they continue to mourn their mother Irene, who died years ago in a suspicious house fire. When Raimunda's lascivious husband Paco unforgivably betrays her and her beloved daughter, he not-so-mysteriously disappears. Determined to keep her family together, Raimunda's resourcefulness and strength of character shift into overdrive just in time for additional family tragedies and unresolved conflicts to call upon her and Sole to return home. Multiple generations of women reunite to mourn their losses, mend old rifts, and harness the healing powers of their collective resilience in the face of age-old adversities. With nods to MILDRED PIERCE and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, VOLVER celebrates those rites and beliefs designed keep ancestors close and the wisdom of generations intact. — Mae Moreno
• Raimunda lives in Madrid with her daughter Paula and her husband Paco, who is always drunk. Her sister, Sole, is separated and works clandestinely as a hairstylist for women. The two sisters lost their parents in a fire in La Mancha, their birth village, years ago. Their aunt, Paula, still lives in the village and continues to speak about her sister Irene, mother of the two sisters, as if she were still alive. When the old aunt dies the situation changes and the past returns(volver) in a twist of mystery and suspense. — 1felco
• Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) and Sole (Lola Dueñas) are sisters who grew up in Alcanfor De Las Infantas, a small village in La Mancha, but now both live in Madrid. Their parents had died in a fire three years before. Sole returns for the funeral of her elderly, dementia-stricken Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave). Aunt Paula's neighbor Agustina (Blanca Portillo) confesses to Sole that she has heard Paula talking to the ghost of their mother Irene (Carmen Maura). Sole encounters the ghost herself, and when she returns to Madrid, she discovers that the ghost has stowed away in the trunk of her car. Sole agrees to let Irene stay with her: Sole operates a hair salon in her apartment, and Irene will assist her. Irene says that she wants to know why Raimunda hates her, and why she herself is afraid to reveal herself to Raimunda. Meanwhile, Raimunda and her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) have a different death to cope with. Paula's father Paco (Antonio De La Torre) attempts to sexually assault her, claiming that he is not really her father, and Paula stabs him in self-defense. Raimunda hides the corpse in the deep-freezer of a nearby restaurant with an absent owner, Emilio (Carlos Blanco). When members of a film crew happen upon the restaurant, Raimunda strikes a deal to cater for them, and finds herself back in the restaurant business. Raimunda reveals to Paula that Paco was not her biological father, and promises to tell her the whole story later. Agustina is diagnosed with terminal cancer and goes to Madrid for treatment. Raimunda visits her in the hospital. Agustina asks Raimunda if she has seen her mother's ghost. Agustina hopes that the ghost will be able to tell her about her own mother, who disappeared three years before. Raimunda leaves Paula with Sole, rents a van and transports the freezer to a convenient spot by the river Júcar. While staying in Sole's apartment, Paula meets her grandmother's ghost and grows close to her. The next night, Agustina comes to the restaurant, and Raimunda reveals two startling secrets: her father and Agustina's mother were having an affair, and Agustina's mother disappeared on the same day that Raimunda's parents died. Sole tells Raimunda that she has seen their mother's ghost, who is in the next room with Paula. Irene admits that she did not, in fact, die in the fire, and reveals the whole truth. The reason for Raimunda and Irene's estrangement is that Raimunda's father sexually abused her, resulting in the birth of Paula; thus, Paula is Raimunda's daughter and her sister. Irene tells Raimunda that she did not know about the abuse until Aunt Paula told her about it, and never forgave herself for failing to stop it. Irene explains that she found her husband in bed with another woman and started the fire that killed them both. The ashes that had been presumed to be Irene's were, in fact, the ashes of Agustina's mother, the woman with whom Irene's husband was having an affair. After the fire, Irene wandered for several days in the countryside, until she decided that she wanted to turn herself in. But first, she wanted to say goodbye to Aunt Paula, who had lost the ability to look after herself and with whom Irene had been living prior to setting the fire. Paula welcomed Irene home as if nothing had happened, and Irene stayed, caring for her sister and expecting that the police would come soon to arrest her. Due to the superstitious and closed nature of the community, however, the police never came and the residents, accustomed to tales of the dead returning, explained the rare sightings of Irene as a ghost. The family reunites at Aunt Paula's house. Irene reveals her presence to Agustina, who believes her to be a ghost. Irene pledges to stay in the village and care for Agustina as her cancer worsens, saying to Raimunda that it was the least that she could do after killing Agustina's mother. Raimunda visits her mother at Agustina's house, and the two embrace and promise to repair their relationship.

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From two-time Academy Award(r)-winner Pedro Almodóvar (2003, Best Original Screenplay, Talk to Her; 2000, Best Foreign Language Film, All About My Mother) comes VOLVER, a comedic and compassionate tribute to women and their resilience in the face of life's most outrageous tribulations. A luminous Penélope Cruz leads an ensemble of gifted actresses, including Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). Raimunda (Cruz) and her sister Sole lost their parents in a tragic fire years ago...or did they? Superstitious villagers claim that the girls' departed mother, Irene (Maura), has been seen wandering around their Aunt Paula's home. When Irene appears to Sole, she explains that she has returned to set right her daughters' troubled lives and reveal shocking secrets that will impact everyone! Raimunda has "female troubles" of her own, least of which is a corpse in the freezer! Winner of numerous film festival and critics' awards, VOLVER is a hilarious tale of love, loss and forgiveness.

© 2006 El Deseo D.A., S.L.U. All Rights Reserved.

© 2024 Sony Pictures Digital Productions Inc.   All rights reserved

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Critic’s Pick

‘Civil War’ Review: We Have Met the Enemy and It Is Us. Again.

In Alex Garland’s tough new movie, a group of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst, as a photographer, travels a United States at war with itself.

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‘Civil War’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The writer and director alex garland narrates a sequence from his film..

“My name is Alex Garland and I’m the writer director of ‘Civil War’. So this particular clip is roughly around the halfway point of the movie and it’s these four journalists and they’re trying to get, in a very circuitous route, from New York to DC, and encountering various obstacles on the way. And this is one of those obstacles. What they find themselves stuck in is a battle between two snipers. And they are close to one of the snipers and the other sniper is somewhere unseen, but presumably in a large house that sits over a field and a hill. It’s a surrealist exchange and it’s surrounded by some very surrealist imagery, which is they’re, in broad daylight in broad sunshine, there’s no indication that we’re anywhere near winter in the filming. In fact, you can kind of tell it’s summer. But they’re surrounded by Christmas decorations. And in some ways, the Christmas decorations speak of a country, which is in disrepair, however silly it sounds. If you haven’t put away your Christmas decorations, clearly something isn’t going right.” “What’s going on?” “Someone in that house, they’re stuck. We’re stuck.” “And there’s a bit of imagery. It felt like it hit the right note. But the interesting thing about that imagery was that it was not production designed. We didn’t create it. We actually literally found it. We were driving along and we saw all of these Christmas decorations, basically exactly as they are in the film. They were about 100 yards away, just piled up by the side of the road. And it turned out, it was a guy who’d put on a winter wonderland festival. People had not dug his winter wonderland festival, and he’d gone bankrupt. And he had decided just to leave everything just strewn around on a farmer’s field, who was then absolutely furious. So in a way, there’s a loose parallel, which is the same implication that exists within the film exists within real life.” “You don’t understand a word I say. Yo. What’s over there in that house?” “Someone shooting.” “It’s to do with the fact that when things get extreme, the reasons why things got extreme no longer become relevant and the knife edge of the problem is all that really remains relevant. So it doesn’t actually matter, as it were, in this context, what side they’re fighting for or what the other person’s fighting for. It’s just reduced to a survival.”

By Manohla Dargis

A blunt, gut-twisting work of speculative fiction, “Civil War” opens with the United States at war with itself — literally, not just rhetorically. In Washington, D.C., the president is holed up in the White House; in a spookily depopulated New York, desperate people wait for water rations. It’s the near-future, and rooftop snipers, suicide bombers and wild-eyed randos are in the fight while an opposition faction with a two-star flag called the Western Forces, comprising Texas and California — as I said, this is speculative fiction — is leading the charge against what remains of the federal government. If you’re feeling triggered, you aren’t alone.

It’s mourning again in America, and it’s mesmerizingly, horribly gripping. Filled with bullets, consuming fires and terrific actors like Kirsten Dunst running for cover, the movie is a what-if nightmare stoked by memories of Jan. 6. As in what if the visions of some rioters had been realized, what if the nation was again broken by Civil War, what if the democratic experiment called America had come undone? If that sounds harrowing, you’re right. It’s one thing when a movie taps into childish fears with monsters under the bed; you’re eager to see what happens because you know how it will end (until the sequel). Adult fears are another matter.

In “Civil War,” the British filmmaker Alex Garland explores the unbearable if not the unthinkable, something he likes to do. A pop cultural savant, he made a splashy zeitgeist-ready debut with his 1996 best seller “The Beach,” a novel about a paradise that proves deadly, an evergreen metaphor for life and the basis for a silly film . That things in the world are not what they seem, and are often far worse, is a theme that Garland has continued pursuing in other dark fantasies, first as a screenwriter (“ 28 Days Later ”), and then as a writer-director (“ Ex Machina ”). His résumé is populated with zombies, clones and aliens, though reliably it is his outwardly ordinary characters you need to keep a closer watch on.

By the time “Civil War” opens, the fight has been raging for an undisclosed period yet long enough to have hollowed out cities and people’s faces alike. It’s unclear as to why the war started or who fired the first shot. Garland does scatter some hints; in one ugly scene, a militia type played by a jolting, scarily effective Jesse Plemons asks captives “what kind of American” they are. Yet whatever divisions preceded the conflict are left to your imagination, at least partly because Garland assumes you’ve been paying attention to recent events. Instead, he presents an outwardly and largely post-ideological landscape in which debates over policies, politics and American exceptionalism have been rendered moot by war.

‘Civil War’ Is Designed to Disturb You

One thing that remains familiar amid these ruins is the movie’s old-fashioned faith in journalism. Dunst, who’s sensational, plays Lee, a war photographer who works for Reuters alongside her friend, a reporter, Joel (the charismatic Wagner Moura). They’re in New York when you meet them, milling through a crowd anxiously waiting for water rations next to a protected tanker. It’s a fraught scene; the restless crowd is edging into mob panic, and Lee, camera in hand, is on high alert. As Garland’s own camera and Joel skitter about, Lee carves a path through the chaos, as if she knows exactly where she needs to be — and then a bomb goes off. By the time it does, an aspiring photojournalist, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), is also in the mix.

The streamlined, insistently intimate story takes shape once Lee, Joel, Jessie and a veteran reporter, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), pile into a van and head to Washington. Joel and Lee are hoping to interview the president (Nick Offerman), and Sammy and Jessie are riding along largely so that Garland can make the trip more interesting. Sammy serves as a stabilizing force (Henderson fills the van with humanizing warmth), while Jessie plays the eager upstart Lee takes under her resentful wing. It’s a tidily balanced sampling that the actors, with Garland’s banter and via some cozy downtime, turn into flesh-and-blood personalities, people whose vulnerability feeds the escalating tension with each mile.

As the miles and hours pass, Garland adds diversions and hurdles, including a pair of playful colleagues, Tony and Bohai (Nelson Lee and Evan Lai), and some spooky dudes guarding a gas station. Garland shrewdly exploits the tense emptiness of the land, turning strangers into potential threats and pretty country roads into ominously ambiguous byways. Smartly, he also recurrently focuses on Lee’s face, a heartbreakingly hard mask that Dunst lets slip brilliantly. As the journey continues, Garland further sketches in the bigger picture — the dollar is near-worthless, the F.B.I. is gone — but for the most part, he focuses on his travelers and the engulfing violence, the smoke and the tracer fire that they often don’t notice until they do.

Despite some much-needed lulls (for you, for the narrative rhythm), “Civil War” is unremittingly brutal or at least it feels that way. Many contemporary thrillers are far more overtly gruesome than this one, partly because violence is one way unimaginative directors can put a distinctive spin on otherwise interchangeable material: Cue the artful fountains of arterial spray. Part of what makes the carnage here feel incessant and palpably realistic is that Garland, whose visual approach is generally unfussy, doesn’t embellish the violence, turning it into an ornament of his virtuosity. Instead, the violence is direct, at times shockingly casual and unsettling, so much so that its unpleasantness almost comes as a surprise.

If the violence feels more intense than in a typical genre shoot ’em up, it’s also because, I think, with “Civil War,” Garland has made the movie that’s long been workshopped in American political discourse and in mass culture, and which entered wider circulation on Jan. 6. The raw power of Garland’s vision unquestionably owes much to the vivid scenes that beamed across the world that day when rioters, some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “ MAGA civil war ,” swarmed the Capitol. Even so, watching this movie, I also flashed on other times in which Americans have relitigated the Civil War directly and not, on the screen and in the streets.

Movies have played a role in that relitigation for more than a century, at times grotesquely. Two of the most famous films in history — D.W. Griffith’s 1915 racist epic “The Birth of a Nation” (which became a Ku Klux Klan recruitment tool) and the romantic 1939 melodrama “Gone With the Wind” — are monuments to white supremacy and the myth of the Southern Lost Cause. Both were critical and popular hits. In the decades since, filmmakers have returned to the Civil War era to tell other stories in films like “Glory,” “Lincoln” and “Django Unchained” that in addressing the American past inevitably engage with its present.

There are no lofty or reassuring speeches in “Civil War,” and the movie doesn’t speak to the better angels of our nature the way so many films try to. Hollywood’s longstanding, deeply American imperative for happy endings maintains an iron grip on movies, even in ostensibly independent productions. There’s no such possibility for that in “Civil War.” The very premise of Garland’s movie means that — no matter what happens when or if Lee and the rest reach Washington — a happy ending is impossible, which makes this very tough going. Rarely have I seen a movie that made me so acutely uncomfortable or watched an actor’s face that, like Dunst’s, expressed a nation’s soul-sickness so vividly that it felt like an X-ray.

Civil War Rated R for war violence and mass death. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes. In theaters.

An earlier version of this review misidentified an organization in the Civil War in the movie. It is the Western Forces, not the Western Front.

How we handle corrections

Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic for The Times. More about Manohla Dargis

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Even before his new film “Civil War” was released, the writer-director Alex Garland faced controversy over his vision of a divided America  with Texas and California as allies.

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Kung Fu Panda 4, Argylle, Netflix’s The Bricklayer, and every new movie to watch this weekend

The new animated action comedy starring Jack Black punches its way onto streaming this week

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Share All sharing options for: Kung Fu Panda 4, Argylle, Netflix’s The Bricklayer, and every new movie to watch this weekend

Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.

This week, Kung Fu Panda 4 , the new animated action comedy starring Jack Black, arrives on VOD following its theatrical run last month. There’s tons of other exciting releases this week, too, like the satirical spy thriller Argylle on Apple TV Plus, a new action thriller starring Aaron Eckhart as a former CIA agent landing on Netflix, the new romantic fantasy film The Greatest Hits on Hulu, and much more. And then there’s Mayhem! , one of the best action movies of the year so far, now streaming on AMC Plus.

Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend!

New on Netflix

Strange way of life.

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Genre: Western drama Run time: 31m Director: Pedro Almodóvar Cast: Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal

This Western short from legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar ( Volver , Pain and Glory ) follows the story of two gunslingers (and former lovers) who reunite after 25 years apart.

The Bricklayer

Genre: Action thriller Run time: 1h 50m Director: Renny Harlin Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Nina Dobrev, Tim Blake Nelson

The latest in a long tradition of “action movies with odd profession titles,” The Bricklayer follows a former CIA agent (Aaron Eckhart) needed by his former agency when journalists start dying. The movie has a bit of pedigree behind it, as Renny Harlin ( Cliffhanger , Die Hard 2 ) directs.

New on Hulu

The greatest hits.

Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu

Genre: Musical romance Run time: 1h 34m Director: Ned Benson Cast: Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min, David Corenswet

After suffering the loss of her boyfriend in a car accident, a young woman named Harriet (Lucy Boynton) inadvertently discovers that she has the power to go back in time to various points in their relationship by listening to his old record collection. When Harriet meets a new love interest named David (Justin H. Min), she struggles between her desire to correct the past to resurrect her boyfriend or pursue the possibility of newfound love in the present.

New on Prime Video

The exorcist: believer.

Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video

Genre: Horror Run time: 1h 51m Director: David Gordon Green Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ellen Burstyn, Ann Dowd

David Gordon Green’s new entry in the Exorcist franchise arrives this week on streaming. It’s a bizarre twist on the franchise, per our review :

Up until this most recent movie, the title The Exorcist carried some weight. While its role as a representation of quality was up for debate, its mark as a sign of ambition was not. Since the original Exorcist , the series has provided some of American cinema’s best and most interesting artists with space to ruminate on faith and evil. Believer lacks the ambition that’s meant to define an Exorcist movie. This is the most profound statement the movie has to offer, seemingly by accident: If the result of moving past God is that everything in the world will feel as empty and pointless as The Exorcist: Believer , we should cling to faith forever.

New on Apple TV Plus

Where to watch: Available to stream on Apple TV Plus

Genre: Action comedy Run time: 2h 19m Director: Matthew Vaughn Cast: Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell

What happens when you take the meta-fictional irreverence of Stranger than Fiction and smash it together with a premise similar to Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 movie Kingsman: The Secret Service ?

You get Argylle , an action satire of spy novels à la 1984’s Romancing the Stone that follows Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), an introverted novelist who is dragged kicking and screaming into a world of international espionage when it turns out that her popular spy novels are predicting the future. Who is the real agent Argylle? You’ll have to watch in order to find out.

From our review :

Argylle is too winking, too keen to show that it’s in on its own joke, to admit any real romantic feeling or any excitement that runs deeper than the surface level of its flashy choreography. Vaughn, the impish ringmaster, delights in challenging the audience to figure out what’s real and what’s fictional within his stylized, nested worlds. It’s just that he never really answers the question: Why should we care? With Argylle , he mounts a playful, rollicking thriller with an all-star cast and some dazzling action — but then holds the audience at arm’s length from it, just to show how clever he’s been in putting it together. The truly clever thing would have been to let the dumb film be joyously dumb, and invite the audience to lose themselves in it instead.

New on Peacock

Drive-away dolls.

Where to watch: Available to stream on Peacock

Genre: Road comedy Run time: 1h 24m Director: Ethan Coen Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein

Ethan Coen’s first narrative feature without his brother Joel is an offbeat crime comedy about a pair of young women who embark on an impromptu road trip. Things get dicey after the two cross paths with a group of incompetent criminals sent to retrieve a mysterious briefcase on behalf of their shady employer.

Drive-Away Dolls ’ well-worn beats are buttressed by tremendous style, a deep care taken with the film’s production and costume design. All that attention to the era that isn’t fully present in the script comes out in the visuals instead. There isn’t much narrative texture to Marian and Jamie’s various stopovers — in particular, there isn’t much for Jamie or Marian to connect with. While the pair have frequent and funny interactions on their trip, the people they meet are more or less cartoon characters setting up a gag.

New on Paramount Plus

Bob marley: one love.

Where to watch: Available to stream on Paramount Plus, MGM Plus

Genre: Biographical musical Run time: 1h 47m Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton

This biopic follows the story of cultural icon Bob Marley, portrayed by Kingsley Ben-Adir ( One Night in Miami... ). The film follows Marley from his rise to fame in the ’70s up until his death in 1981.

New on AMC Plus

Where to watch: Available to stream on AMC Plus

Genre: Action thriller Run time: 1h 49m Director: Xavier Gens Cast: Nassim Lyes, Loryn Nounay, Olivier Gourmet

An early contender for one of this year’s best action films , Mayhem follows Samir (Nassim Lyes), an ex-con and martial artist, who flees from France to Thailand to escape his former gang. Struggling to build a new life, Samir finds himself once again dragged into a world of deceit and violence when a powerful real estate tycoon kidnaps a member of his family.

Mayhem ’s action is brutal and kinetic, with inventive kills, strong location work, and realistic choreography that makes the most of Lyes’ kickboxing pedigree. It’s a true star-making performance for him, as he juggles the role’s demanding physical requirements with a deep well of sorrow that permeates the entire affair, even as he dispatches foe after foe.

New to rent

Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon , Apple , and Vudu

Genre: Documentary Run time: 2h 36m Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore made a documentary on renowned film composer Ennio Morricone, one of the most accomplished people in that stacked field. The documentary includes Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Springsteen, and many more luminaries from the entertainment world.

Glitter & Doom

Genre: Musical romance Run time: 1h 55m Director: Tom Gustafson Cast: Alex Diaz, Alan Cammish, Ming-Na Wen

A musical set to the songs of the Indigo Girls, Glitter & Doom follows a summer romance between a musician committed to this craft (Alan Cammish) and a “free-spirited circus kid” (Alex Diaz).

Io Capitano

Where to watch: Available to rent on Apple and Vudu

Genre: Fantasy Run time: 2h 1m Director: Matteo Garrone Cast: Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Issaka Sawadogo

Desperate for an escape out of poverty, two cousins leave their hometown of Dakar, Senegal, to journey to Italy in search of a better life. Trekking across the hazards of the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Ocean, the pair are met with sights and wonders beyond their wildest imaginations.

Kung Fu Panda 4

Genre: Martial arts comedy Run time: 1h 34m Director: Mike Mitchell Cast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Bryan Cranston

The fourth entry in the Kung Fu Panda saga sees Po taking on a new apprentice to succeed him as the Dragon Warrior. When a mysterious sorceress plots to resurrect Po’s past adversaries, he’ll need to call upon all his strength and allies to save the day.

While the individual scenes and moments in Kung Fu Panda 4 are entertaining (and sometimes even great), it never quite gels as an enjoyable movie on its own. The message of change tying it together is flimsy, and the plot feels strung along, trying to get the characters in the right place to launch a few seconds of cool action. After four movies, it isn’t really a surprise that the Kung Fu Panda machine is running out of steam — thankfully, though, it has just enough power left to churn out some genuine laughs at the end.

Genre: Biographical drama Run time: 1h 50m Director: James Hawes Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Flynn

Anthony Hopkins stars in a dramatization of the life of Sir Nicholas “Nicky” Winton, a London broker and humanitarian who rescued the lives of 669 Jewish children in the months leading up to World War II. Hopkins portrays Winton in his late ’70s, while actor-musician Johnny Flynn portrays him during his youth in the late 1930s.

Sleeping Dogs

Genre: Crime thriller Run time: 1h 50m Director: Adam Cooper Cast: Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Marton Csokas

After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, retired homicide detective Roy Freeman (Russell Crowe) is motivated to reopen an investigation into the murder of a college professor when a mysterious new witness comes forward with a compelling piece of evidence. As he works to track down the true culprit, he’ll have to fight to convince those around him to trust his intuition and theories.

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