Blog From The Bench

Pedro Almadóvar’s Mala Educación was an exploration of varying shades of masculinity, a shadowy world of harsh blues with emotional edges that cut and slice. In Volver (2006), Almadóvar’s follow-up film, he turns his gaze to all things feminine: and the result is an explosion of warm colors and vibrant floral prints. Make no mistake, we’re in a very different world here—melodrama (perceived as a feminine realm) as opposed to noir (perceived as a masculine realm), and both films, both nearly masterpieces, somehow (in my mind at least), compliment each other. As if making the connection explicit, all male sexual transgressions are violently purged within the first minutes of Volver, leaving the rest of the cast—all female—to create a kind of hidden, personal utopia around themselves. While not a perfected world (for there are still abundant problems to be dealt with), this is certainly a community fostering and valuing solidarity above all things, for even when that solidarity is threatened—even on national television—it is never broken. Channeling Magnani, Loren and all those other great Italian martyrs of the domestic realm (as well as Mildred Pierce in a nod to Hollywood), Penélope Cruz stands as the protector of this little world which she created with the same combination of gentle care and utter ferociousness that goes into her dazzling gourmet meals. I take back all pronouncements I’ve ever made about Cruz being the worst actress working in cinema today, and will go as far as to say that the Best Actress award bestowed at Cannes on the entire female cast is a direct slap to her—this is an award that should have been all hers, and hers alone. While there may some vague feeling that the film doesn’t quite go far enough, or is just a little too rosy, it’s without a doubt a triumph for all involved.