VOLVER

Finally! This movie is what I have been waiting to see from the spanish films we have seen so far. Women taking control of their lives, making a living on their own, and not letting a man dictate what they can do. Raimunda displays a resilience that is unparallelled. She is raped and gets pregnant by her father we later find out. Depite everything she has been through, she is a loving mother, sister, friend, and niece. When faced with the death of her husband at her daughters hand, she does the only thing she can for her daughter, she takes it upon herself to fix the problem. She not only gets rid of the body but she continues on.
Irene we find out has been hiding for all these years portraying her own ghost. She was cheated on by her husband with a woman she knew for years. She eventually takes her revenge and burns him and his mistress up in the fire. Despite suffering the grief from accidentally killing Agustina's mother, she comes back to take care of her ailing sister hiding herself away from her daughters and society. In the end she helps take care of the dying Agustina to help atone for her sins. Her relationship with Raimunda is repaired as time has passed and Irene has had the chance to tell her daughter the truth and express her feelings of anger at not realizing about the incest.
The superstitious aspects of the movie is believing that Irene is a ghost. The people in the film acted like it was not unusual to see the ghost of a loved one once they passed on. Agustina even thought that Irene's ghost could help bring her closure before she died. The other aspect of superstitiousness in the film was the reference to the wind making people crazy, starting fires, and helping raise the ghosts of the dead. The title to the movie "To Return" perhaps speaks of the ability of the culture to accept the possibility of the dead returning as ghosts.
Overall this film portrays several women and their ability have loving relationships with each other despite personal tragedy. The strength of these women is nothing short of miraculous.