Volver
Secrets. Ghosts. A troublesome dead body. These elements form the basis of Volver, a magical and lush melodrama for which Pedro Almodóvar returned to his home region of La Mancha.
Raimunda is married to a deadbeat named Paco. Her sister, Sole, runs an illegal hair salon out of her apartment. Raimunda, her daughter Paula and Sole travel from Madrid to the windy and superstitious village of Alcanfor de las Infantas to visit the grave of their mother. The death of an aunt sets off a chain of events that makes them confront old ghosts, both figuratively and literally.
In VOLVER, Almodóvar studies how the deceased continue to affect our lives even after they have left the natural world. This theme is introduced in the opening scene in which a group of women scrub and polish the graves of their beloved. Almodóvar expands upon this theme through the film, in particular from the perspective of the women of La Mancha. The female cast was awarded with a joint best actress award at the Festival de Cannes.