Volver (2006)

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] story saturated with Almodovar's love and compassion for women of all shapes, sizes and sentiments; a hearty tribute to the Spanish maestro's rural La Mancha roots..." 09/01/2006 p.38

Sight and Sound
"VOLVER has the convivial aspect of a family reunion..." 09/01/2006 p.42

Sight and Sound
4 stars out of 4 -- "Cruz vindicates herself in dazzling style as a domestic goddess par excellence." 09/01/2006 p.122

Rolling Stone
"Penelope Cruz comes into her own as an actress, being gorgeous and gritty, alive and thrilling." 09/07/2006 p.124

Rolling Stone
4 stars out of 4 -- "With the help of six extraordinary actresses...Almodovar crafts one of the year's best films....VOLVER is Almodovar's passionate tribute to the community of women -- living and dead -- who nurtured him." 11/20/2006 p.136

Entertainment Weekly
"The movie opens as borderline Hitchcock, echoing the tone of the filmmaker's bravura BAD EDUCATION....Almodovar rips the rug out from under the audience in a most delightful way." -- Grade: B 11/10/2006 p.56

Film Comment
"[T]he most significant reunion in VOLVER is the one that takes place between the filmmaker and actress who has best embodied his feminine ideal: Carmen Maura....An effective example of purely fictional filmmaking, grounded in script and performance." 11/01/2006 p.72

New York Times
"It draws you in, invites you to linger and makes you eager to return. It offers something better than realism." 11/03/2006 p.E1-E17

Premiere
Included in Premiere's "10 Best Movies Of The Year" -- "[I]t's a nuanced slow-burner with near-endless resonance." 01/01/2007 p.48

Rolling Stone
Ranked #4 in Rolling Stone's "The 10 Best Movies Of 2006" -- "[N]o one rivals Pedro Almodovar for speaking the language of love in all its permutations..." 12/28/2006 p.118

Film Comment
Ranked #9 in Film Comment's "20 Best Films Of 2006." 01/01/2007 p.36

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "VOLVER is a vibrant, dazzling film that will surprise with each of its unexpected plot turns." 03/01/2007 p.104

USA Today
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Penelope Cruz's acting rises to a new level....This cruises on a full tank..." 04/06/2007 p.8E

Wall Street Journal
"Penelope Cruz is dazzling, passionate, witty, mercurial and yet unshakably grounded as Raimunda..." 11/20/2009

Reel.com 9 of 10
The great Pedro Almodovar is back. And after his dark Bad Education (2004), he returns to the light with the lively Volver. With the filmmaker reuniting with the wonderful Carmen Maura for the first time in 17 years, and populating his movie with an estrogen-centric ensemble, comparisons to his classic Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown are inevitable...Almodovar's affection for mothers (beginning with his own), and for women in general, is evident in every single frame of the film. The actresses get to play characters with rich inner lives and real meat on their bones (even if the slender Cruz's fanny is the product of prosthetics). Cruz has the most prominent role, and she's never been better, imbuing Raimuda with resilience, determination, and humor. In fact, the entire cast is wonderful. - Pam Grady
 
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
In Pedro Almodovar's enchanting, gentle, transgressive "Volver," a deceased matriarch named Irene (Carmen Maura) has moved in with her sister Paula (Chus Lampreave), who is growing senile and appreciates some help around the house, especially with the baking...Almodovar is above all a director who loves women -- young, old, professional, amateur, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, dead, alive...He also achieves a vivid portrait of life in a village not unlike the one where he was born...It is refreshing to see Cruz acting in the culture and language that is her own. As it did with Sophia Loren in the 1950s, Hollywood has tried to force Cruz into a series of show-biz categories, when she is obviously most at home playing a woman like the ones she knew, grew up with, could have become. - Roger Ebert