In Volver, a tragi-dramedy about mothers, daughters, and some not-so-nice men who try to come between them, Penélope Cruz proves that her wondrous turn in Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother was no fluke, and that despite all those Hollywood misfires, she is, in fact, a splendidly gifted actress. Throughout the movie, she juggles a dizzying range of emotions — fear, exhilaration, fierce maternal love — often in the space of a single scene. With her hair swept into a tousled updo, her eyes lined heavily in black kohl, and her svelte frame made curvier by much-discussed bum cushioning, the Madrid native radiates a womanly sexiness reminiscent of such great European actresses as Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani. —Missy Schwartz