Volver - Interviews, Articles and Reviews

From paedophile priests to psychotic transsexuals, Spain's most outrageous director has tackled ever more raucous themes as he captured the dark underbelly of his country. Now, in the highly acclaimed Volver, Pedro Almodovar confronts the one topic that had eluded him - death. But, asks Peter Conrad, why does Penelope Cruz wear that prosthetic bum? More

4 Penélope Cruz Cannes Interview

Okay. One obvious question. “Volver” means “coming back”, and it's for you also a coming back to working with Pedro Almodóvar. Was that…? How was the feeling? Read More

4 Pedro Almodóvar Cannes Interview

Interviewer: Better to whisper because I understand a little bit, but not too much.

Traductora: La señora entiende un poco de español pero no demasiado. Así que me ha pedido que cuando tú le hables yo le traduzca al inglés.

Pedro Almodóvar: Entonces te hablo un poco más corto, con frases más cortas. More

4 Carmen Maura Cannes Interview

Interviewer: “Volver” means “coming back”, and it was also you coming back, or you and Almodóvar coming back together. How was the feeling?

Carmen Maura: The feeling for this... Ah, bueno, ¿lo que siento con la palabra volver? Yo creo que Pedro no ha puesto “volver” a la película porque yo vuelva con él, sino porque vuelve el fantasma y porque es el argumento. Pero para mí volver con él ha sido una enorme satisfacción y ha sido muy, muy, muy divertido encontrar que después de 17 años, “17 years”, las cosas entre nosotros, como actriz y como director, son iguales. A él le he encontrado muy diferente como persona, pero como director conmigo están exactamente igual. Read More

4 Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz Interview

It's six years since director Pedro Almodóvar and actor Penélope Cruz worked together on All About My Mother. They talk about the rehearsal process, their friendship and the many happy returns of their latest film, Volver. Read More

4 Penélope Cruz: Homecoming Queen

She's spent nearly a decade in Hollywood, but it's Almodóvar's new movie, set in Spain, that has marked the coming of age of Penélope Cruz. She tells Simon Hattenstone about playing a real woman, politics and - despite herself - about Tom Cruise. Read More

4 Volver: Variety Review

A richly evocative return to his childhood roots, Pedro Almodovar's 16th feature "Volver" signals a new, low-frills departure for a helmer whose recent work has been as much about style as substance; pic is cinematographically and dramatically more contained and satisfyingly unflashy. Peopled with superbly drawn, attractive characters smoothly integrated into a well-turned, low-tricks plotline, "Volver" may rep Almodovar's most conventional piece to date, but it is also his most reflective, a subdued, sometimes intense and often comic homecoming that celebrates the pueblo and people that shaped his imagination. Read More