Volver

Volver is a film that can be considered a tribute to women. All of the women in this film faced hardships and adversity in their lives, took the bull by the horns (some more forcefully than others) and did the best with what they had been dealt.

The main character, Raimunda, had apparently been sexually abused by her father, which resulted in Paula, her daughter as well as her sister. Her husband, Paco, was also a loser-unemployed, beer drinking, attempting to molest Paula, while Raimunda worked numerous jobs to support the family. Raimunda disposes of Paco's body after he is killed as he tries to molest Paula, protecting her daughter from the emotional trauma of being arrested. Sole was a more timid personality but also independent as she opened her own "on the side" hair salon in her apartment to support herself after her husband leaves her. Irene, the mom of Raimunda and Sole, is also strong in that even though she could not confront her husband in the fact that he was molesting their daughter, she sets the hut on fire where her husband and Agustina's mother are having an affair. She is acting out on her inability to confront her husband and also her feelings about his infidelity, although I can't really say I would condone setting the place on fire. Irene hides out in Aunt Paula's home after the fire, caring for her sister as her health is declining and living as a recluse in Aunt Paula's home until Aunt Paula dies. Agostino is also a strong woman as she too lives independently, cares for Aunt Paula as her health is failing, and sets out on a quest to find her own mother before she dies of cancer. All of these women are fighting for their survival.

Superstition appears to be a normal occurrance in the Spanish culture, especially surrounding death. In the opening scene, ladies of the village are literally washing the grave stones of family members to keep them neat and tidy. I have to believe that superstition comes into play in this ritual or maybe it is just a tradition. When Aunt Paula dies, it becomes apparent that several of the towns people have seen the "ghost" of Irene and Agustina admits that on several occasions she has heard Aunt Paula talking to the ghost of Irene. These sightings do not seem to have instilled fear but are more of a matter of fact part of life, as if it is not unusual for ghost to return, to be seen, or talked to. Agustina seems to readily accept the fact that someone knocked on her door and whispered that Aunt Paula had died, resigned to the fact that the ghost of Irene had let her know of the death. When Sole hears a knock on her car trunk after returning from the funeral, although she is fearful she opens the trunk door to find her mother. Sole assumes she is a ghost, never once thinking that her mother is really there in the flesh and not a ghost. She asks the ghost if she has returned because she has left something undone, which seems to be a common theme or reasoning as to why a ghost would return to earth and not be able to rest in peace. Irene indicates she has some things to resolve, which seems to make the whole situation easier for Sole to accept. Sole accepts the ghost into her everyday life, telling others she is a Russian immigrant that she took in out of charity. When the family returns to La Mancha and Irene reveals herself to Agustina, Agustina calmly accepts that Irene is a ghost and she is there to help look after her until her death comes.

Overall, I enjoyed much of this film. It shows the tenacity of women that have been wronged. I don't think much of what they did as far as disposing of Paco's body and burning the hut with the lovers inside would be accepted at face value in the US with DNA testing and all the other technologies used to identify remains, etc. It was interesting to see how the town of La Mancha held onto their old ways and traditions even though this movie occured in the recent past, as shown in the traditions at the cemetary, the funeral and wake, and the obligation of taking care of family and one another. I was glad to see at the end that Raimunda and Irene were able to repair the rift in their relationship.