PENELOPE CRUZ CONNECTS WITH THE DEAD

Penelope Cruz reunites with friend and director Pedro Almodovar for Volver, playing the mother of a teenage daughter married to an unemployed laborer dealing with the ghost of her recently deceased mother played by Carmen Maura. Penelope talked with villagers in Pedro’s hometown of La Mancha, Spain where the film was shot who swear they’ve seen an apparition.

Penelope had to explore her own feelings about immortality and what happens after we die to understand her character’s visions.

“No I’ve never seen one but we met a lot of people in this village and we were talking about ghosts with them because our mother in the movie comes back as a ghost. I believe some of their stories. I haven’t seen one myself. Yeah because those feelings are so real when somebody tells you so convinced that they have seen one why doubt somebody else’s reality about that. This is already a big enough miracle so why not. I’ve never seen one.”

Volver is Pedro’s homage to the working class neighborhood of La Mancha showing their unique social rites practiced for the dead. Cruz who grew up in Madrid, Spain learned about the interesting rituals that the locals have for their dearly departed in the tiny town.

“For me at that point I believe that it’s just a body that went away. That instrument to communicate to these dimensions went away but I’ve always had the feeling that things keep going, their trip keeps going but it’s such a personal thing and always a little bit strange to talk about this subject which shouldn’t be because we are here and we don’t know why or where we’re coming from or where we’re going. We get used to not knowing and sometimes that makes me angry. I feel so impatient about not knowing.”

In a scene only Almodovar can direct Penelope dances a sexy Flamenco which came naturally to her as her sister danced Flamenco. Singing is not her forte so she lip synchs to the world renowned Flamenco singer Estrella Morente. Volver opens Friday.

“Where they still have these rituals like in the movie where women go and clean the tombs like twice a week because they feel the cleanest it is the more love that being is receiving from the family. It’s all about how clean it is. Sometimes they buy their own tomb when they are alive and they clean it and decorate it and prepare the place that they’re gonna be when they’re gone. It’s a little bit different from my own relationship to that subject but I really respect it because it’s so real for them.”