"Volver" the film

This is probably old news, but the Spanish made film "Volver" just made it the Central Ohio area. In addition to being very entertaining, it gives a fascinating glimpse of working class Madrid. While the portrayal of the typical Spanish male is not particularly flattering, it is still a very good film and will really tax your Spanish language skills, if you don't look at the subtitles.

I think it has been out since early 06, but things are slow getting here.

Hi again, Dave B.! I haven't seen "Volver" yet but will wait to see it with subtitles. While I have no idea, I'd imagine that, being an Pedro Almodóvar film, it gives a niche view or skewed view of average life in Spain, correct?

I must say I'm surprised - but happily so - that it has reached my home state. And who woulda thunk that Callahan... err... Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" (note: my grandfather, 92 yrs old and doing well, was THERE at Iwo Jima and saw BOTH raisings of the USA Flag during World War II) would beat Almodóvar's "Volver" in the Foreign Language category at the Golden Globe Awards yesterday. Let's see if the Academy feels similarly.

Looking forward to seeing "Volver". It's still showing here in Madrid.

Saludos, MadridMan

Good to hear from you MM! I hope that you are happy in Madrid. We miss you here in Central OH.

RE: Volver: Yes, I think you are correct about the "niche view". The daily life aspect of the film was fascinating and the cast is great. It's hard not to like Ms. Cruz!

I tried to watch without the subtitles and I was soon "out of my league". Let me know what you think when you see the film.

I forgot to say that your grandfather is truly a member of the "greatest generation", to whom we all here owe a great deal. I can't imagine what he endured.

Respectfully,
DaveB

oh madridman...you must see Volver.
its the typical barrio Madrileño movie;and Penelope Cruz is superb!!!
a very funny movie i saw in Spanish where I am in France

pedmar, did you see the movie "Barrio"? Now THAT'S a typical barrio Madrileño movie. But regarding "Volver", I'll have to catch it on DVD so I can watch with subtitles to be sure I understand it all.

Saludos, MadridMan

I will put my two cents in and also tell you to see "Volver" as I think it is one of my favorite Almodóvar films after "Mujeres al Borde de Un Ataque de Nervios" and "Todo Sobre Mi Madre." I am planning to see it again in the theater before it goes to DVD.

I am intrigued by the "Barrio" movie you mentioned. I looked for it on Netflix but couldn't find it. Who is in the movie? I might search by actor or director since sometimes they translate the names of the movies in a weird way.

VOLVER IS OUT IN DVD IN FRANCE 19.99 EUROS§§ ITS MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now Barrio,never heard of it. Can you tell us a bit more without telling everything? MadridMan.

This is the Barrio movie MadridMan refers to. Written and directed by Fernando Leon, shows perfectly the dreams and lives of working class teenagers in a Spanish big city suburb.

¡Mil gracias por la información Torrales! Unfortunately the movie does not seem to be available in the US. I checked Netflix, Amazon, and a local media outlet that has thousands of obscure titles and none seem to have it. Amazon had a few copies for sale that were imports, so of course they are coded for different DVD players.

I'll have to look for a special showing at one of the local art house theaters in the future.

Two of Fernando León de Aranoa's other films are available here: "Mondays in the Sun" and "Princesas."

parece interesante; la tratare de buscar mas a fondo. Pero hasta ahora no aparece en Francia tampoco.
tengo cuenta en El Corte Inglés, la pueden tener ahi?

You are both welcome.

Yes, it seems that Barrio hasn't been released in the States, only in the UK apart of Spain in Europe. The IMDb link I posted shows on the right a banner from Amazon and only the Union Jack flag is active (what means that they have a British version), but American, Canadian, German and French aren't.

Pedmar, as this film is an old release (1998), it is not very easy to find it online. I have searched the El Corte Ingles website for it, with no results. However, FNAC-Spain has it listed as "on stock" at 5.95 EUR:
http://www.fnac.es/.....

This movie has also been edited in an special EL PAÍS collection of Spanish movies that was released about three years ago. Actually, the copy I have is one of these. If you ever come to Madrid's El Rastro, it is pretty easy to find DVDs belonging to this collection (and many others alike) in the DVD stalls located at the Campillo del Nuevo Mundo, the square in the Southern edge of El Rastro. Hope it helps.

Edit: If you cannot wait to come to Spain and purchase it, I have found two eBay stores that have it (not at its best price, but...):

http://cgi.ebay.com/BARRIO-DVD-In-Spanish....

http://cgi.ebay.com/FERNANDO-LEON-DE-ARANOA-BARRIO....

thanks Torrales
yes i do come to MAdrid every year too. know the Rastro and once lived there in the '70's another era.metro quintana calle alcalà!!!
i know FNAC of course will see if they can order it for me have account there too. I probably will be in Madrid in September this year alone or possibly in july with my kids;not firm yet so it too far to wait lol!!!