Synopsis

Three generations of women survive the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality.

They are Raimunda (Pénelope Cruz), who is married to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage daughter (Yohana Cobo); Sole (Lola Dueñas), her sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the mother of both (Carmen Maura), who died in a fire along with her husband. This character appears first to her sister (Chus Lampreave) and then to Sole, although the people with whom she has some unresolved matters are Raimunda and her neighbour in the village, Agustina (Blanca Portillo).

Volver is not a surrealistic comedy although it may seem so at times. The living and the dead coexist without any discord, causing situations that are either hilarious or filled with a deep, genuine emotion. It's a film about the culture of death in my native La Mancha. The people there practice it with an admirable naturalness. The way in which the dead continue to be present in their lives, the richness and humanity of their rites mean that the dead never die.

Volver destroys all the clichés about "black" Spain and offers a Spain that is as real as it is the opposite. A Spain that is white, spontaneous, funny, intrepid, supportive and fair.

The Cast

PENÉLOPE CRUZ After having participated in Live Flesh and All About my Mother, Penélope has worked with Pedro Almodóvar again.

After studying acting in Cristina Rota's school, she worked with some of the most important directors in Spain: Bigas Luna, in Jamón, jamón and Volaverunt, Fernando Trueba, in Belle Epoque and The Girl of your Dreams (for which she received the Goya for Best Actress), Alejandro Amenábar in Open Your Eyes, and Agustín Díaz Yanes in Don't Tempt Me. Added to this is a more than notable international career that includes films like The Hi-Lo Country (Stephen Frears), All the Pretty Horses (Billy Bob Thornton), Blow (Jonathan Demme), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (John Madden) and Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe).

With Don't Move, by Sergio Castellito, she won the David di Donatello award and the Best Actress Award from the Academy of European Cinema (People's Choice Award). The New York Times chose her performance in this film as one of the ten best female performances of the year. After Volver, she worked in The Good Night (Jake Paltrow) and is about to begin shooting on Manolete (Meno Meyjes). With her sophisticated, Mediterranean beauty, she has been the image of Ralph Lauren for years. Her interests include that of becoming a photographer.

CARMEN MAURA

She began in one of the most difficult areas, the one where you learn most, café theatre. Her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe was one of the milestones in this sub-genre in the 70s. At the end of the 70s and the start of the 80s, she became the queen of what was known as Madrid comedy, working with Colomo, Trueba and Almodóvar.

She and Pedro Almodóvar shared the most important moments of their careers in the 80s (Pepi, Luci, Bom, Dark Habits, What Have I Don't to Deserve This?!, Matador and Law of Desire). It culminated with the international success of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (for which she won, among others, the Goya, the Ciak, the Fotogramas de Plata and the European Film Award for Best Actress). With a career that spans over thirty years, it is impossible to summarize the national and international productions, in cinema, theatre and television, in which Carmen has participated, or the awards she has won.

We would mention Ay, Carmela (Carlos Saura) with which she won both the Goya and the European Film Academy's Award for Best Actress, and La comunidad (Alex de la Iglesia) for which she won, among others, the Silver Concha (San Sebastian Film Festival) and the Goya for Best Actress. Recently she finished shooting Nos chères têtes blondes in France, with director Charlotte Silvera.

LOLA DUEÑAS

Lola Dueñas is also working again with Pedro Almodóvar after a small part in Talk to Her.

After studying with Juan Carlos Corazza, Lola began her career with Salvador García Ruiz in Mensaka, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Toulouse Festival and the Most Promising Actress Award from the Actors' Union. She has also appeared in Marta y alrededores (Nacho Pérez de la Paz and Jesús Ruíz), Las razones de mis amigos (Gerardo Herrero), Piedras and Veinte centímetros (both by Ramón Salazar) and, above all, The Sea Inside (Alejandro Amenábar). For this last film, she received the Goya for Best Actress and also the Award for Best Supporting Actress from both the Film Writers' Circle and the Actors' Union.

At present she is shooting Lo que sé de Lola, by Javier Rebollo, for whom she already worked in his award-winning short films, En medio de ninguna parte, El equipaje abierto and En camas separadas.

BLANCA PORTILLO

Born in Madrid in 1963, she studied at the Royal School of Dramatic Art where she began a successful theater career for which she has received such recognition as the Celestina and Max awards for Madre, el drama padre, the Max award, the Actors' Union award and the Teatro de Rojas award for Family Ressemblances, or the Miguel Mihura and Actors' Union awards for La hija del aire, directed by the prestigious Jorge Lavelli.

Very popular thanks to the television series Siete vidas, Blanca has also appeared in several films. In fact, she was nominated for a Goya as Most Promising Actress for El color de las nubes (Mario Camus). She has also appeared in the films Alatriste (Agustín Díaz Yanes) and Goya's Ghosts (Milos Forman), both of which are in post production.

YOHANA COBO

Gifted with an abrasive look, young Yohana Cobo, who is from Madrid, has appeared in several television series, but her talent was really noticed in La vida mancha (Enrique Urbizu). It was confirmed with her leading role in El séptimo día (Carlos Saura) for which she was nominated as Most Promising Actress by the Film Writers' Circle.