Review of "Volver"

Raimunda lives in Madrid with her daughter Paula and her husband Paco, who is always drunk. Her sister, Sole, is separated and works clandestinely as a hairstylist for women. The two sisters lost their parents in a fire in La Mancha, their birth village, years ago. Their aunt, Paula, still lives in the village and continues to speak about her sister Irene, mother of the two sisters, as if she were still alive. When the old aunt dies the situation changes and the past returns(volver) in a twist of mystery and suspense.
The movie starts slowly. All the central characters are unmarried or widowed women. The central character, Raimunda, lives a bleak urban life in Madrid with her worthless husband and awkward teenage daughter. She was estranged from her mother for years prior to her death. All the characters hold grudges of some sort. By story’s end, truth ultimately emerges and heals the rifts within the family