Where to start with this film? Well, there is Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) who is living in Madrid with her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) and her deadbeat husband Paco (Anotonio de la Torre). They are barely coping with life when a tragic event occurs that Raimunda and Paula must deal with. Then there is her mother Irene (Carmen Maura) who died in a fire four years ago but has returned to live with her other daughter, Sole (Lola Deunas) to resolve issues from her life. Finally, there is Agustina (Blanca Portillo) who lived nearby Irene and her husband before they died and who is trying to resolve the issue of her missing mother before she becomes ill from the cancer which is afflicting her.
And there is more – this is only a small part of the plot. It’s also quite a long film, just over two hours long. But, in all of that, there are only two scenes that I felt didn’t quite work. One was a singing scene, which was kind of cute but didn’t really bring much – although the song gave the film its title. The other was the key meeting between Raimunda and her mother, where an awful lot of back story was explaining in a very detached and lengthy conversation. Overall, though, it is a great film, thoroughly entertaining, and with a great Hitchcock-esque soundtrack.
Penelope Cruz was nominated for an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
ireckonthat 