VOLVER [2006] review

This was my second attempt to try and watch VOLVER. The first time the subtitles were just way too poor. I found another version with subtitles that were at least grammatically correct. This is an intimate feeling movie, with few characters and mostly indoor settings involving the characters (all are female) talking with each other as they slowly reveal present and past secrets regarding their family and friends. Besides themes of family bonding and tragedy, a theme of spiritual bordering on supernatural takes shape mid-way through the movie. We learn that people in villages in that part of Spain very easily believe in ghosts and the malevolent powers of the strong winds that pass through town periodically. I was taken in by the stories the women had to tell and the natural, domestic environments they were filmed in and appreciated the lack of a soundtrack. The emotional moments in the movie had their own weight, and didn’t need any score to underline them.

The movie is basically all dialogue, so make sure your eyes are up for reading a constant stream of quickly vanishing subtitles, unless of course you can understand Spanish.

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