Cammy Reagan; Volver

This was finally a film that was not about a long lost love, or a macho man wanting to control his wife. This was, in fact a film that showed the resilience of a woman (Raimunda) who had an childhood filled with sexual abuse at the hands of her father, which resulted in the birth of her child (Paula) named after her Aunt Paula. She spent a lot of time with her Aunt Paula who seemed to be a source of support for her as she dealt with her abuse and the fact that her mother did not notice what was happening to her. She had met and married Paco while she was pregnant with Paula and he assumed the role of her father. She grew up thinking he was her father until one day after the loss of his job, he was home with her. He attempted to rape Paula and she defended herself, subsequently killing him. When Raimunda arrived home, Paula was waiting for her at the bus stop in the rain. She told her mother what had happened and that something had happened, Raimunda discovered Paco dead in the kitchen. In order to protect her daughter, she tells her to always remember that she was the one that killed Paco. She cleans the kitchen and enlists the help of Paula to get him out of the apartment. Raimunda had been entrusted with the keys to Emilio's restaurant while he was away. She managed to get Paco's body in the freezer until she could figure out what to do with it, otherwise.
While Raimunda has is in the restaurant one day, a man comes by looking for a place to buy food for the film crew he was working with in the city, she decides since she is in need of money, to cater a meal for the film crew. This resulted in several meals being catered as well as a party for the finish of the film. Another man tries to see the restaurant and she has to confess to Emilio that she was using the restaurant since Paco had"left them". All the while she is enlisting the help of her friends to get the freezer out of the restaurant and get rid of the body. In the interim, her mother has reappeared as a "ghost". This must be a superstition that is common in the Hispanic culture, as we have seen many films that deal with the visions of spirits. It is believed that Irene the ghost of Sole and Raimunda's mother has been helping take care of their sick Aunt Paula, and Agustina the neighbor has heard her talking to her during the night. After Aunt Paula dies, Irene hides herself in the trunk of Sole's car, ending up living with her and helping her shampoo her clients hair. How strange was it that Sole thought she was a ghost, but she could color her hair, I thought that was pretty funny. Raimunda and her mother finally make amends when they talk about what happened to Raimunda, and Irene tells her of the guilt she felt for what happened to her, she was so angry that she set the fire that killed Raimunda and Sole's father as well as Agustina's mother, who was having an affair with him. Irene made amends for killing Agustina's mother by caring for Agustina when she found out she had terminal cancer and was dying. Irene vowed to take care of her until she died. This film shows how women will always be the care taker, the one who is the solid rock that the children depend on. Even in the Hispanic culture it is the woman that ultimately pushes on and teaches the others to survive no matter what the circumstances are. The women in this film dealt with the adversity in their lives head on and did whatever necessary to protect the family, even if it was against the law.