For years, I have thought that some of the best movies that I have seen have come from Spain; Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" (which means "return") affirms this. The movie mainly focuses on young Raimunda's (Penelope Cruz) aim of rectifying some mistakes that she's made, but it really goes deeper than that. I could say that it's about life in general, about the human spirit, or something else, but I don't think that I can really do the movie justice by trying to describe it. It's just a wonderful movie (has Almodovar ever made anything less than a wonderful movie?).

Among other things, I would like to say that Penelope Cruz does far better in her native country. In case you thought that she was getting too Hollywood, just check out this one and "Abre los ojos" (remade as "Vanilla Sky"; having seen the original, I see no reason to watch the Hollywood remake, as it looked more like an excuse to show off Tom Cruise). These two will show that Ms. Cruz has done well when speaking her native language.

Anyway, this is a really good movie. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Also starring Carmen Maura.

VOLVER started rather slowly and I advise you to wade through this slower portion and be patient. This slower portion is necessary to set up the characters as well as where the film will be going later.

The film begins with Penelope Cruz and her daughter and sister going to the cemetery to clean the grave of their mother and father--a tradition in this part of Spain. From there, they go to visit a senile aunt and they marvel that in spite of the aunt's mind slipping, she seems amazingly well fed and the house is in order---like there is some sort of guardian angel watching over her. There is so much more to the plot than this--things such as murder, adultery and a seeming resurrection from the dead. However, if I get any more specific it might ruin the suspense, so I'll just say that the plot becomes very involved with lots of great twists and turns.

One potential negative some might have about this film is that the men in it are big dumb jerks. However, for this film it did fit the plot and it's not like every film we watch is like that, so I could let go of this.

But on the positive side, the writing and direction are exceptional as is the acting. There really isn't much I would change about this wonderful film (except perhaps edit out a few choice things a prostitute says to Cruz later in the film--this is VERY adult). Still, for a Pedro Almodóvar film, it's much less adult and is one you could allow your teens to watch.

Raimunda (Penélope Cruz),her sour sister Sole and her daughter Paula travel to their home town to visit her mother Irene's grave. Irene had died in a fire with her husband. Irene's senile sister Paula insists that Irene is still alive and living with her. Their friend Agustina takes care of Paula. The three women return to Madrid. Paula kills her drunken unemployed stepdad Paco after he tried to rape her. Raimunda tries to cover it up by hiding the body in a freezer. Sole goes to Paula's funeral alone and encounters her mother's spirit who starts haunting her. That's before everybody's secrets are revealed.

This has Pedro Almodóvar's touches of colorful visual style, a little bit of Hitchcock, a lot of quirky supernatural and Penélope Cruz. It has fun bodied humor. The only problem is a nagging question of why she had to cover up Paco's death. A simple little scene could easily give her a reason. It could be as easy as Paco bragging about his policemen buddies. It would make the cover-up more logical. Actingwise, Penélope Cruz has never been better. She is a big time screen presence and so radiant.