VOLVER, Pedro Almodovar, 2006. Subtitled. Cert 15

Penelope Cruz stars as Raimunda in this touching, funny drama with elements of the thriller. She has something of Sophia Loren about her; she is always watchable, her huge dark eyes glisten with tears and her smile is riveting. The film opens with a visit to her demented aunt and Cruz plays the lynchpin of a family of women, worried for Aunt Paula, concerned for her anxious sister Sole, and is mother to 14 year old Paula. She plays a strong character, yet teeters about in the tightest skirts imaginable, low cut tops and impossibly high heels. Raimunda's husband is an unappealing slob but he doesn't distract from the female-centred drama for long.

Raimunda works as a cleaner and the family are poor. An unexpected opportunity occurs for her to make some money by re-opening a closed restaurant, next door to her apartment, for a month to cater for a film crew working nearby. This brings in outsiders to the small village, adds life and colour to the film, and prevents the claustrophobia which could stifle an otherwise incestuous parochial story.

The sisters' dead mother re-appears to Sole to clear up unfinished family business. Secrets are unravelled and the maternal and sibling bonds are all strengthened in this unusual story. The circularity is a delight, when the final truths are all spoken, Almodovar provides a neat but plausible finish to the drama. The men in the family come out badly.

Comments

GLORIOUS 39. Dir Stephen Poliakoff. 2009

Glorious 39 strips away illusions. Poliakoff presents the apparent idyll of an English aristocratic family headed by genteel patriarch Lord Keyes (Bill Nighy). He presides over a country estate in Norfolk and his elegant townhouse in London – a world of golden light, romantic ruins, servants, house parties and happy children. But this is 1939, a mere 21 years since the Great War, the war to end all wars, in which millions died, Britain was crippled with war debt, and the English country house system which he so values was almost annihilated. There are many references to the ancientness of his family and tradition, but now, few male servants remained alive or unmaimed to work the English landscape or to be in service to the old families. Fearing domestic and political upheaval, appeasers such as Keyes sought to prevent Churchill leading the country and taking Britan to war, and to buy off Hitler to preserve British cultural and national identity. Nighty is excellent, contro...

LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. Dir. Julio Medem 1998

I should have done some research before going to see this because I thought it was going to be about lovers in the Arctic Circle. Instead of being transported to the icy wastes of an unfamiliar landscape the film is set in urban Spain, but in a very cold Spain with wind, rain and everyone in thick jumpers. Shot in near monochrome, the effect is cold and the Spartan interiors of apartments provide a bleak, comfortless setting for love to blossom. Otto and Ana meet as children and are attracted to each other due to the nature of coincidence, and coincidence plays a large part in the narrative. The two children are engaging and there are some comic scenes between them when young and, later, as teenagers, with trysts in the night and their love kept secret. However, once they’re older the story loses momentum and, at times becomes surreal and confusing as the viewpoint moves in and out of the two characters’ imaginations. Otto suffers an extreme grief reaction when his mother acci...

HARRIET. Dir. Kasi Lemmons. 2019

Astonishing true story of early freedom fighter, Harriet Tubman, enslaved in the Southern states of America. Despite her marriage to a freeborn African-American, she was unable to protect any of their hoped-for children from being born into that same slavery, and being owned by the farm proprietor. Her overpowering sense of injustice compelled her to act. She escapes, and eventually becomes one of America’s great heroes. Her audacity is astonishing, the level of courage she sustained, her extraordinary tenacity and physical endurance, not to mention cunning and excellent planning. One of those qualities would be worthy of high praise but she is exceptional for having all of them, created by her determination to rescue her family and then other captives. She was responsible for the escape of almost 300 slaves Her religious faith was absolute and she felt guided by God to help others, aided by Abolitionists and free African-Americans. Filmed in glorious colour, with deft...

Just For Lookin' Thru

Search This Blog