We start the week with energy! At the request of our Patreon tribe,
today in Automatic Spanish we talk about “Volver”,
a fantastic film by a well-known Spanish film director: Pedro Almodóvar.
Hi Karo, how are you?
Hello Mauro. Hey, do you like Almodóvar? He's the best-known Spanish film director, right?
Okay, yes. He is a well-known director, but he arouses mixed opinions. Almodóvar is
admired by a large part of the public and foreign specialized critics,
but in Spain he has as many admirers as detractors. However, he is considered a
modern classic of Spanish cinema, as he has written and directed some twenty films that have had
resonance both inside and outside of Spain. Why do you think it has had such an impact?
Well, maybe the influence of Francoism has something to do with it. You know well that during
Franco's dictatorship, Spain was isolated from the rest of Europe. And Europe,
in the 1950s and 1960s, experienced an economic boom and major shifts in
thinking. For example, it moved away from certain traditional values ​​and
experienced a breakthrough in terms of women's rights, for example.
And not Spain?
No. Spain did not experience this change. It remained stagnant,
because the Franco regime continued to propagate the values ​​of the Church
and the patriarchy. Women's rights were almost non-existent.
I see, now ... Well, this is the gray panorama in which Almodóvar grew up. And
with only 17 years he moved to Madrid. In Madrid he experienced the
end of the dictatorship and became a benchmark for the “movida madrileña.”
Every time I hear “movida madrileña”
a little strange musical groups come to mind. What is the “movida madrileña”?
Well, the “movida madrileña” is a countercultural movement that arises with the open-minded climate
that began to breathe during the Transition. And Almodóvar captures this opening very clearly
in his films so… extravagant and daring… especially the sexual freedom of the time.
Well, “Volver”, which is one of his films that I liked the most, it seems as if it were a tribute to
the Madrid scene and pop art, right? You just have to see how he dresses his characters with
garish colors ... and the sets as well: garish, vibrant and strident. But they say that he,
Pedro, in his private life also likes to dress in strident colors.
And they say their office resembles a museum dedicated to pop culture.
And what about his career?
Well, it has been tremendously irregular. He jumped to success thanks to the self-confidence, scandal and
freshness of his early work. Undoubtedly, those first films emerged in response to
the social changes that took place during the Spanish transition and in the 1980s.
Yes, the self-confidence and freshness are perceived in his films.
But it is also very present the shabby, the rude.
Of course, because in its beginnings it represented minority social groups that until then were
absent on Spanish screens. And thanks to that he soon became a cult director.
And what about "Volver"?
Almodóvar's films are always an event. They arouse a lot of interest.
And “Volver” was a great international success. It premiered in 2006 and was awarded more than
40 international awards, including: four European Film Awards and five Goya Awards.
And Penelope Cruz was a candidate for the Oscar for best actress. Sometimes it seems like
a surreal comedy, but it is not. Do you know what Almodóvar says about “Volver”?
No. What does it say?
That tells us of "three generations of women [who] survive the east wind,
fire, madness, superstition and even death based on goodness,
lies and boundless vitality."
Almodóvar has always been fascinated by the female universe.
However, in "Volver" the women do not resemble the
women of the Franco era. Because the protagonists of Almodóvar are modern,
independent and do not stay at home but go to work. They have a profession.
Certain. Their strength and ability to fight is also common to all their female characters,
although it also endows them with sensitivity and fragility, which makes them very human.
And the title "Back"? Why this title?
Almodóvar said that, apart from "going back to his origins" in La Mancha, he has also returned
a little more to comedy. And after her two previous works (Talk to her in 2002 and
Bad education in 2004) in which men were the protagonists, she has once again dealt with the female
universe and motherhood. And he has returned to work with Carmen Maura, Chus Lampreave and Penélope Cruz.
They say that Volver is one of his works with more autobiographical elements. As you just said, it
recreates the culture of La Mancha, its homeland. The story inspired by the environments of his
childhood: the matriarchal world of the women of the town, with their secrets and their alliances, women
who are at the same time friends, rivals, but always ready to help each other in difficult moments.
Almodóvar said that "it is his film more strictly from La Mancha, the language,
the customs, the patios, the sobriety of the facades, the cobbled streets ...".
AHA! Hey, the film starts off with an exceptional sequence, right?
I already tell you! The women appear cleaning the graves of "their men" dead, moving to the
rhythm of a happy song and talking to each other while the
credits appear. It's black humor, right? Almodóvar creates a happy atmosphere in a cemetery.
And a strong wind blows across the scene. This wind takes center
stage with its omens of ghost story, madness and death. However,
treat these issues with humor. Because “Volver” is a bizarre story,
with a script saturated with unexpected twists, bordering on the implausible.
However, the story is credible thanks to the
way the characters and their feelings are presented.
Characters! We have already dropped that the film speaks of three generations of women:
the grandmother, the two daughters (Sole and Raimunda) and the granddaughter (Paula). The plot, without gutting the
film, is as follows: Raimunda, a young, enterprising and very attractive mother,
has an unemployed husband and a daughter in full adolescence. One day, when he comes back from one of the
several jobs he has taken to support the family, he finds SOMETHING TRUCULENT in the
kitchen. SOMETHING that you did not expect to find. I'm not telling you what it is. You have to see it.
But this event is the trigger for the film. And here you will also see
Pedro's black humor , because this gruesome event gives rise to comic situations.
Yes, "Volver" is a dramatic comedy. And I find it quite difficult to make a
credible story when it combines dramatic, funny sequences,
with a lot of black humor and a quite surreal result. I think it has a lot of merit.
AHA! Almodóvar has always liked to mix genres. For him it is something
natural. Other comic situations are triggered by one more character
that we have not mentioned so far: a ghost.
Yes. The fact of including a ghost in the plot is basically a comic element,
especially if you treat it in an Almodovarian way. All of Sole's attempts to hide the ghost
from her sister, or the way she introduces it to her clients, provokes very comical scenes.
Hey, what's that about the east wind?
The east wind is the wind that comes from where the sun is born. And he's
responsible for the fires and driving people crazy.
Ah, so that's why the women of the town believe in ghosts and superstitions.
And there are many metaphorical ghosts: the ghost of the absent father, the ghost of the dead mother,
the ghost of unemployment, the ghost of a family drama ...
For this reason Raimunda, the character played by Penelope Cruz, in one of the scenes sings:
"I have fear of the encounter with the past,
which faces my life again ”. This is one of the messages in the movie,
right? That the ghosts of the past return and pose a threat.
Yes. The truth is that it is a very beautiful film. In it you can see all
the sources from which Almodóvar drinks: melodrama, classic cinema, serial,
comic, classic comedy and comedy, ... and elements
belonging to different subcultures such as kitsch, retro or shabby .
And he uses colors as expressive resources, those bright,
strong, and oversaturated colors that we see in all his films creating different associations.
In the first sequence of the film, Raimunda wears a purple jacket that
is often associated with sexuality. And the more negative a sexual passion is, the more black
it adds. The purple or red in Raimunda's clothes tell us that she is an attractive
woman but they also imply that many men reduce her to an object of pleasure.
And, of course, red is the predominant color in “Volver”. That characteristic
red of Almodóvar that, in part, transmits joy and life, but also passion.
And what about this close-up where you can see
kitchen paper soaking in red? Impressive isn't it?
Yes incredible. There are so many spectacular shots. There are a
few zenith shots: a soup plate, a razor,
a jar of hair dye, a jewelry box with plastic ornaments ...
And lots of close-ups. By the way, about the close-ups, during an interview he said that you
have to ask yourself what you mean in the close-up. That you need very good actors and that
they need something real to play, right? Because if not, the foreground does not hold.
Excellent! The truth is that he knows how to use them to transmit a lot of emotional charge.
AHA! One of the strongest scenes is the one in which Paula recounts
to her mother the traumatic event that triggered the entire film.
Yes, it is true, that scene is loaded with close-
ups. And the music in this scene is great - it conveys suspense and tension.
Well, I am very happy that we are watching Almodóvar's movies
. I have to admit that I am rediscovering them and I am really enjoying them.
Yes, he is a good director. I am also discovering
many things that I had not appreciated before.
Hey, what… we highly recommend “Volver” because it is a very rich film and very well done.
"Volver" is a film where lies and trickery are the order of the day.
It is at the same time serious and funny, serious and satirical, tender and cruel ...
And with a wonderful punch at the trash TV programs,
which criticism is not usually lacking in Almodóvar's films.
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We said goodbye now. See you soon, my dear!
See you in two weeks.
A big kiss.