Volver

es una película de comedia dramática española de 2006escrita y dirigida por Pedro Almodóvar.
La película cuenta con un elenco coral que también incluye a Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura,
Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo y Chus Lampreave. Girando en torno a una
excéntrica familia de mujeres de una región azotada por el viento al sur de Madrid, Cruz
interpreta a Raimunda, una mujer de clase trabajadora obligada a hacer todo lo posible para
proteger a su hija Paula, de 14 años. Para rematar la crisis familiar, su madre Irene regresa de
entre los muertos para atar cabos sueltos.

La trama se origina en la película anterior de Almodóvar La flor de mi secreto, donde aparece

como una novela que se rechaza para su publicación pero es robada para formar el guión de
una película llamada El congelador. Inspirándose en el neorrealismo italiano de finales de la
década de 1940 y principios de la de 1950 y en el trabajo de directores pioneros como Federico
Fellini, Luchino Visconti y Pier Paolo Pasolini, Volver aborda temas como el abuso sexual, la
soledad y la muerte, mezclando los géneros de la farsa, la tragedia , melodrama y realismo
mágico. Ambientada en la región de La Mancha, lugar de nacimiento de Almodóvar, el cineasta
citó su educación como una gran influencia en muchos aspectos de la trama y los personajes.

Volver se estrenó en el Festival de Cine de Cannes de 2006, donde compitió por la Palma de
Oro. Recibió elogios de la crítica y finalmente ganó dos premios en el festival, a la Mejor Actriz
y al Mejor Guión. El estreno en España de la película se celebró el 10 de marzo de 2006 en
Puertollano, donde había tenido lugar el rodaje. Cruz fue nominada al Premio de la Academia
2006 a la Mejor Actriz, convirtiéndola en la primera mujer española en ser nominada en esa
categoría. Plot

Raimunda and Sole are sisters who grew up in Alcanfor de las Infantas, a small village in La
Mancha, but now both live in Madrid. Their parents had died in a fire three years before.

Raimunda and her daughter Paula live with Paula's father Paco. When he attempts to rape
Paula, claiming that he is not really her father, Paula stabs him to death in self-defense.
Raimunda hides the corpse in the deep-freezer of a nearby restaurant with an absent owner,
Emilio. When members of a film crew happen upon the restaurant, Raimunda strikes a deal to
cater for them, and finds herself back in the restaurant business.

Meanwhile, Sole returns for the funeral of her elderly and dementia-stricken Aunt Paula. Aunt
Paula's neighbour Agustina confesses to Sole that she has heard Paula talking to the ghost of
their mother Irene. Sole encounters her mother's ghost herself, and when she returns to
Madrid, she discovers that the ghost has stowed away in the trunk of her car. Sole agrees to let
Irene stay with her and assist her with clients for her illicit hair salon, which she operates out
of her apartment. Irene agrees to pose as a Russian immigrant who doesn't speak any Spanish.
Irene questions why Raimunda hates her and is fearful of revealing her presence to Raimunda.

Raimunda reveals to Paula that Paco was not her biological father, promising to tell her the
whole story later. Agustina is diagnosed with terminal cancer and goes to Madrid for
treatment. Raimunda visits her in the hospital. Agustina asks Raimunda if she has seen her
mother's ghost. Agustina hopes that the ghost will be able to tell her about her own mother,
who disappeared three years before. Raimunda leaves Paula with Sole, rents a van and
transports the freezer to a convenient spot by the river Júcar. While staying in Sole's
apartment, Paula meets her grandmother's ghost and grows close to her. The next night,
Agustina comes to the restaurant, and reveals two startling secrets: her mother and
Raimunda's father were having an affair, and her mother disappeared on the same day that
Raimunda's parents died.

Sole reveals to Raimunda that she has seen their mother's ghost, who is in the next room with
Paula. Irene admits that she did not, in fact, die in the fire, and reveals the whole truth. The
reason for Raimunda and Irene's estrangement is that Raimunda's father sexually abused her,
resulting in the birth of Paula; thus, Paula is Raimunda's daughter and her sister. Irene tells
Raimunda that she did not know about the abuse until Aunt Paula told her about it, and never
forgave herself for not noticing it.

Irene explains that she found her husband in bed with another woman and started the fire
that killed them both. The ashes that had been presumed to be Irene's were, in fact, the ashes
of Agustina's mother, the woman with whom Irene's husband was having an affair. After the
fire, Irene wandered for several days in the countryside, until she decided that she wanted to
turn herself in. But first, she wanted to say goodbye to Aunt Paula, who had lost the ability to
look after herself and with whom Irene had been living prior to setting the fire. Paula
welcomed Irene home as if nothing had happened, and Irene stayed, caring for her sister and
expecting that the police would come soon to arrest her. Due to the superstitious and closed
nature of the community, however, the police never came and the residents, accustomed to
tales of the dead returning, explained the rare sightings of Irene as a ghost.

The family reunites at Aunt Paula's house. Irene reveals her presence to Agustina, who
believes her to be a ghost. Irene pledges to stay in the village and care for Agustina as her
cancer worsens, saying to Raimunda that it was the least that she could do after killing
Agustina's mother. Raimunda visits her mother at Agustina's house, and the two embrace and
promise to repair their relationship.