With a lusty, no-nonsense manner to complement her sensual allure, Penélope Cruz seems to be channeling Sophia Loren (especially in Vittorio de Sica's "Two Women") as Raimunda, an airport cleaning woman who finds her life turned upside down by unexpected death, possible ghosts and a thriving restaurant in Pedro Almodovar's 2006 film. A curious mix of absurdist comedy and melodrama with a touch of the surreal, it plays out like a cross between an old Warner Brothers women's picture (like Michael Curtiz's "Mildred Pierce") and de Sica's lighter social comedies from the 1960's (like "Marriage, Italian Style") but with Almodovar's particularly askew perspective and his trademark use of saturated bright colors.
The meandering film focuses on a close group of women, most prominently Raimunda and her timid hairdresser sister Sole, who shuttle between Madrid, where they live, and La Mancha, the central region where they buried their parents who died recently in a fire. Their frail Aunt Paula blithely claims that their late mother Irene has been taking care of her, and sickly neighbor Agustina, who is looking for her own runaway mother, corroborates Paula's seemingly preposterous belief in Irene's presence. However, with an adolescent daughter and a beer-guzzling, unemployed husband to look after, Raimunda has big problems of her own which lead to dire consequences and test her aptitude for self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, Sole gets a not altogether unexpected visitor.
Their stories eventually converge into a revelation that surprisingly lacks the resonance to bring all the plot elements together (probably because the same revelation has been used more effectively in other films). Almodovar's Baroque-level touches are everywhere from the candy-colored palette to the overly convenient plot turns to the attention on Cruz's cleavage and artificially bulbous behind. The elements just seem more contrived within a narrative that lacks the emotional power and propulsive pacing of previous works like "Talk to Her" or the similarly themed "All About My Mother". Regardless, Cruz is a far more interesting actress in her native tongue as she is given a fully dimensional character to play and even a chance to sing (albeit dubbed).
Though somewhat overshadowed by Cruz's buxom presence, the remaining cast is solid with Almodovar regular Carmen Maura a gravitating presence as Irene, Lola Dueñas effortlessly bringing the insecurity out of Sole and Yohana Cabo as Raimunda's unusually becalming daughter Paula. The 2007 DVD is chock full of extras beginning with the engaging if lightweight commentary by Almodovar (with occasional participation from Cruz) spoken in Spanish and subtitled in English. There are more in-depth interviews with Almodovar, Cruz and Maura. There is also the inevitable making-of featurette and a meandering interview between Cruz and a rather smitten Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan at the 2006 AFI Film Festival screening. Almodovar's films are always worth watching, but from my perspective, this is one of his more modest efforts and more of a star vehicle for Cruz.
The meandering film focuses on a close group of women, most prominently Raimunda and her timid hairdresser sister Sole, who shuttle between Madrid, where they live, and La Mancha, the central region where they buried their parents who died recently in a fire. Their frail Aunt Paula blithely claims that their late mother Irene has been taking care of her, and sickly neighbor Agustina, who is looking for her own runaway mother, corroborates Paula's seemingly preposterous belief in Irene's presence. However, with an adolescent daughter and a beer-guzzling, unemployed husband to look after, Raimunda has big problems of her own which lead to dire consequences and test her aptitude for self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, Sole gets a not altogether unexpected visitor.
Their stories eventually converge into a revelation that surprisingly lacks the resonance to bring all the plot elements together (probably because the same revelation has been used more effectively in other films). Almodovar's Baroque-level touches are everywhere from the candy-colored palette to the overly convenient plot turns to the attention on Cruz's cleavage and artificially bulbous behind. The elements just seem more contrived within a narrative that lacks the emotional power and propulsive pacing of previous works like "Talk to Her" or the similarly themed "All About My Mother". Regardless, Cruz is a far more interesting actress in her native tongue as she is given a fully dimensional character to play and even a chance to sing (albeit dubbed).
Though somewhat overshadowed by Cruz's buxom presence, the remaining cast is solid with Almodovar regular Carmen Maura a gravitating presence as Irene, Lola Dueñas effortlessly bringing the insecurity out of Sole and Yohana Cabo as Raimunda's unusually becalming daughter Paula. The 2007 DVD is chock full of extras beginning with the engaging if lightweight commentary by Almodovar (with occasional participation from Cruz) spoken in Spanish and subtitled in English. There are more in-depth interviews with Almodovar, Cruz and Maura. There is also the inevitable making-of featurette and a meandering interview between Cruz and a rather smitten Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan at the 2006 AFI Film Festival screening. Almodovar's films are always worth watching, but from my perspective, this is one of his more modest efforts and more of a star vehicle for Cruz.