Volver

Finally! The man-bashing I was waiting for! Let me begin by saying that I absolutely loved this film. It captivated my interest at every point and told a genuine, touching story. As a man, however, I feel a little snubbed. There are only two major male characters in the story, and though they are major forces in the story, they are not very prevalent in the actual film. The first male character is Paco, Raimunda's wife and Paula's adoptive father. He is only present for the very beginning of the film, but he doesn't need much time for us to develop a hatred for him anyway. He has just lost his job, is apparently a drunkard, and seems to misunderstand sexual cues. On his way to bed, he sees his adopted daughter changing through the crack in her bedroom door, and stares for a second at her nude back. Then as he enters his bed, he aggressively attempts to make love to Raimunda, who refuses his advances. In potentially the most awkward situation I've ever seen depicted in a film, he pleasures himself just inches away from Raimunda, who begins to silently cry. The next day, we find out that Paula has killed him to fight off his attempt to rape her. What a great guy. The second male character is also key to the story, but entirely absent. He is Irene's husband and Raimunda's father. I don't believe his name is actually given. It is revealed later in the film that he actually impregnated Raimunda, his daughter, and that Paula is the product of incest. He also habitually cheated on Irene.

The role of men in this film is thus only to propagate evil. Without the actions of Raimunda's father, there would not have been any issue in the first place, as Irene would never have started the fire that killed him and his lover, meaning she never would have had to go into hiding / act as though she was a ghost. Furthermore, Raimunda would never have been impregnated and Paula would never have been born. Paco also plays his role in giving the women in the story line hell, as he causes Raimunda and Paula to live a lie, with the former having to resort to numerous absurdities to pull it off. The women in this film have all done good and bad; they are not portrayed as perfect characters. However, the bad they have had to do was the direct result of the horrible actions of these men. The women are entirely justified in their actions, being it killing Paco, burying him, or Irene killing her husband and his lover.

Men are evil.