Volver<$> — Pedro Almodovar’s latest comic drama is a reunion all-around as he revisits themes and locales of his boyhood in La Mancha, Spain, and teams again with Penelope Cruz and Carmen Maura. The film centres on two sisters (Cruz and Lola Duenas) and the seemingly supernatural return of their mother (Maura), killed along with their father in a fire. Writer-director Almodovar weaves a tangle of dire and even appalling troubles and tragedies around this central thread. Yet it all becomes much lighter and hopeful under Almodovar’s playful lens, with the film a sensual delight of colour, music, hearty food and the director’s glorification of strong women. Cruz is vigorous, volatile and voluptuous in arguably her finest performance ever. She’s also looks like a bombshell of Sofia Loren proportions, the camera constantly positioned to make the most of her bosom and low-cut blouses. Maura deftly mixes pathos, regret and humour in presenting a mother with a good deal of unfinished business among her kin. R for some sexual content and language. 121 minutes. Three and a half stars. — David Germain