Penelope Cruz says that when she finished six months of work on "Volver," the new movie directed by Spain's Pedro Almodovar, she was so wrapped up in her character that she faced an emotional crisis.

"I couldn't leave the set. I didn't want to take my false ass off. There was an emotional attachment. I was a disaster for two months. I was unbearable," she told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, shortly before the Spanish movie had its gala North American premiere.

Almodovar said he wanted Cruz to wear that "false ass" -- one of the more famous props of recent cinema -- to make her character, Raimunda, resemble an Italian film heroine of the 1950s.

Sitting next to Cruz at a news conference, Almodovar dissected her body parts, saying the 32-year-old Spanish actress has a small head, an ample bosom but a "slender ass." As he pointed each part out, Cruz smiled.

"The ass is very important. I wanted a fake bottom like Dustin Hoffman had in 'Tootsie.' ... This is what I want for her. Having a generous ass made her look close to the ground. These are important decisions to make because once you have the physical part, you can work on the spiritual part," Almodovar said.

In the movie, Cruz plays a strong working-class woman who has to protect her daughter and solve the mystery of her parents' death in a fire. As in many Almodovar films, the male characters are weak, and few and far between

"I couldn't leave the set. I didn't want to take my false ass off. There was an emotional attachment. I was a disaster for two months. I was unbearable," she told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, shortly before the Spanish movie had its gala North American premiere.

Almodovar said he wanted Cruz to wear that "false ass" -- one of the more famous props of recent cinema -- to make her character, Raimunda, resemble an Italian film heroine of the 1950s.

Sitting next to Cruz at a news conference, Almodovar dissected her body parts, saying the 32-year-old Spanish actress has a small head, an ample bosom but a "slender ass." As he pointed each part out, Cruz smiled.

"The ass is very important. I wanted a fake bottom like Dustin Hoffman had in 'Tootsie.' ... This is what I want for her. Having a generous ass made her look close to the ground. These are important decisions to make because once you have the physical part, you can work on the spiritual part," Almodovar said.

In the movie, Cruz plays a strong working-class woman who has to protect her daughter and solve the mystery of her parents' death in a fire. As in many Almodovar films, the male characters are weak, and few and far between