Volver (pronounced something like bol-BARE) stars Penelope Cruz as a woman dealt a harsh hand in life. Following a teenage pregnancy, both her parents were killed in a fire and she’s ended up married to a crazy, lecherous pig. And that’s just the start.

We meet Raimunda (Cruz) with her sister, Sole, and daughter, Paula, as they clean gravestones – a tradition that apparently even the living perform on their own future burial spots.

Within a few days, her great-aunt dies, her sister sees ghosts, her husband molests her daughter, who then kills him in self-defence. As her world unravels, Raimunda somehow manages to hold it all together in a remarkably engaging and entertaining way.
Volver is a little bizarre – but it just about clings to reality. It’s full of vibrant colours and characters and explores loyalty, determination and relationships: mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and, er, ghosts.

Volver as a Guide to La Mancha, Spain.

Pedro Almodóvar, one of Spain’s greatest directors, travels back to his homeland of La Mancha with this film. Volver contrasts the city life of Madrid against the more conservative countryside. It’s great for hearing traditional music and the rhythm of Castilian Spanish, as well as for gazing at the tiled walls and entrance halls of great Spanish houses.

As Almodóvar said, “Volver is a tribute to the social rites practiced by the people of my village with regard to death and the dead.”

“Volver is a tribute to the social rites practiced by the people of my village with regard to death and the dead.”

Intrigued, I asked my Spanish friends about preparing your own grave.

Luis, from Seville, shrugged. “Exaggerated, but basically true.”

Volver – Return to Spain first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

This film follows the interweaving stories of Londoners going about their ordinary lives – as mothers, fathers, Prime Ministers, rock stars and sex-scene body doubles – as the capital prepares for Christmas. Love is examined from almost all angles and almost always comes up as the heartwarming substance that makes life worth living.

Love Actually presents a sparkling image of London, where everyone lives in spacious townhouses that in reality only the star cast could afford. Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley and so many more that I’m running out of blog space.

So, while this film bears almost no resemblance to life or travel in London, it’s one of the most spirit-lifting I’ve ever seen without stumbling into sentimentality. If nothing else, watch the authentic opening few seconds, filmed in London’s Heathrow Airport. No, really, watch it.

NB – In contrast, the film’s depiction of Wisconsin, USA is utterly compelling and believable. Watch, learn – and boys buy a plane ticket!

Love Actually, London first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...