The power of motherhood and the blessing of good friends run as themes through Pedro Almodovar's entertaining fantasy "Volver," even though the central topics are abuse and death. Penelope Cruz has never looked lovelier or acted better as a prickly but resourceful woman whose long-held secret about the father of her teenage daughter is revealed only upon the appearance of her dead mother as a ghost. The memorable opening sequence shows a platoon of widows and daughters cleaning the gravestones of their departed loved ones in the windswept cemetery of La Mancha.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.