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Ghosts also cry [Review of the motion picture Volver].

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Author

Summary, in English

Reviews the film, Volver, directed by Pedro Almodóvar (2006). At the beginning of this extraordinary film, women in a small Spanish town tend to the graves of their departed; at the end, what some would consider a female "ghost" nurses a relative with cancer, as a haunting shot of a wooden door with cracks of light slowly turns dark, reminding us that in the blackness that will engulf us at the end, only the caring of others can give us solace. Within the circle of the living taking care of the dead and the dead taking care of the living, director Pedro Almodóvar takes us through a unique journey that includes murders, incestuous abuse, and, surprisingly, in the midst of it all, laughter--and an affirmation of life through the ways in which, albeit imperfectly, women care for others. In the female universe of Volver, Almodóvar presents a morality that does not shy away from the complexities and ambiguities of real life and is based on caring for others and interconnectedness.

Publishing year

2007

Language

English

Publication/Series

Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books

Volume

52

Issue

13

Document type

Review

Publisher

American Psychological Association (APA)

Topic

  • Psychology

Keywords

  • interconnectedness
  • living
  • death
  • caring for others
  • family
  • automatic moral judments
  • ghosts

Status

Published