Rose Cantine

I have always loved Pedro Almodovar’s movies - the complex characters, the dialogue, the twists of plot. His latest film, Volver (in English, Coming Home or Coming Back), is about the relationships among six women, especially between mothers and daughters: the main character, Raimunda (Penelope Cruz), her teenage daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo), her sister Soledad (Lola Dueñas), her Aunt Augustina (Blanca Portillo), Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave) and her late mother Irene (Carmen Maura). The drama begins with the death of Raimunda’s lazy, creepy husband (I won’t say more about how he died or I will give away the story). Penelope Cruz puts in a very strong performance as does Yohana Cobo, whose sullen portrayal of a confused teenager is close to perfect.

I recommend this movie, which is one of the best this season. It is currently showing in Amsterdam. Read the film review in the Guardian.

Coming this week: Zwartboek (The Black Book), a new film by Paul Verhoeven (view trailer here). The film is a follow-up to “Soldier of Orange” (Soldaat van Oranje), a film he made in 1977. Verhoeven revisits certain themes from the Second World War, but instead of a drama filled with heroes and villains (black and white) as portrayed in Soldaat van Oranje, he focuses on the gray area: how those who survived are in some way accomplices and traitors. I will be seeing it at the end of the week so check back for my review.