Volver

Excited as I was at seeing that Almodovar's earlier movies are available in 2 DVD box sets (and yes, there is a Xmas pressie hint there) Volver was in some ways disappointing, perhaps the victim of expectations that were not met.
Volver takes three generations of women ( Penélope Cruz, Yohana Cobo, Lola Dueñas, and Carmen Maura, and exposes them to easterly wind, fire, madness, superstition and even death in a light-touched comedy. Carmen Maura's mother, who died in a fire lying next to her husband, comes as an apparition to her sister and then her daughters, one of who has just killed her own husband. This situation is exploited to provoke both comedy and genuine emotion. And it does this well.
However the combination of the obscuration of the sub-titles by the person sitting in front; and expectations of something more outrageous and more surreal meant that this was unfortunately a disappointment despite its qualities.