European Women

Volver *** ½ European films often have a “huh?”-factor for me, which does not make them bad, just difficult to evaluate or explain. This film was no exception. While it was a nice story about how various deaths serve to separate or reunite this family of women, I’m not sure what the film’s overall message is. But, films don’t always have to have meaning or a message. The portrayals of women in this film are wonderful – each character has depth, complexity, beauty, history, and strength, with a healthy dose of strangeness to keep them real. When there are complaints that there are no good roles for women any more, this movie should be the counterargument.