Friendship, Death and Life. Pedro Almodovar returns to competition in Venice with his first English-language film, The Room Next Door, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. A mournful work inspired by the novel ‘What Are You Going Through’ by Sigrid Nunez that tackles the theme of end of life and issues a rallying cry in defense of the planet we live on. These are the words of the protagonists at the press conference:
Pedro Almodovar
Shooting in English was like starting a new era, and I needed a suitable vehicle: in this case, it was the novel ‘What Are You Going Through’ by Sigrid Nunez. The Room Next Door is a film in favour of euthanasia: Spain is the fourth European country to have a law on euthanasia but I think it is urgent that this law exists worldwide. We live in a world full of dangers: climate change is no joke. And I don’t know how many more demonstrations are needed to ensure it is real. The film is about a woman who is agonising in a world that is probably also agonising. The only solution, as pretentious as it sounds, is for everyone, starting at home, to speak out against all this denialism. We must stop these denialist demonstrations because the planet is in danger, but it could be a much more significant threat.
Julianne Moore
‘In Pedro Almodóvar’s films, there is always a life force; you can feel the heartbeat, what it means to be alive and to have a body. In this film, I love the way Pedro portrays the female friendship between two grown women, which is so underrepresented in cinema. No director can do it like Pedro. The authentic depth of their relationship moved me and was reflected in the relationship between Tilda and me. We confided in each other about many things, even the most trivial, like simply talking about shoes. It also takes this to get close to a person and understand who you are.
Tilda Swinton
In The Room Next Door, we deal with the theme of death, but I feel like this film is about life more than anything else. I am not afraid of death. I never have been. Accepting the transition for some people is difficult, but I became aware of it very early on. In any case, the journey of ‘transition’ requires a lot of self-determination, and this film is a triumph. Martha has a sense of adventure and a celebration of life: the belief in evolution is the movie’s real heart.
