At this year's Cannes film festival, one of the more ardently argued questions had to do with the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, whose performance in Pedro Almodóvar’s "Volver" was one of the festival's high points. The movie was widely beloved -- so much so that at the closing ceremonies its two prizes, for Mr. Almodóvar's screenplay and for its remarkable ensemble of actresses, seemed almost disappointing -- and Ms. Cruz in particular had no shortage of admirers.

In "Volver" Pedro Almodóvar has transformed Penélope Cruz into a melodramatic heroine.

Few were inclined to dispute the wit or dexterity of her acting, which steers "Volver" from screwball to weepie and back again with intoxicating verve. But many viewers -- not all of them low-minded, lecherous types by any means -- noticed that her usually sparrowlike figure seemed fuller than usual, especially around the hips.

Had Mr. Almodóvar padded his star's skirt? One source, connected with the film's American distributor, was sure he had. Another, who had encountered Ms. Cruz at a party, swore that what we had seen on the screen was there, as it were, in the flesh.

American audiences, accustomed to speculating about the authenticity of various movie-star body parts, will have a chance to assess this issue when "Volver" is released in the United States on Nov. 3. (It will also be the centerpiece, on Oct. 7 and 8, of the New York Film Festival.) But there is no doubt that, with or without cushioning, Ms. Cruz reveals a new dimension in this film, and that Mr. Almodóvar, who created it in part as a showcase for her talents, has provided her with her most substantial role to date.