«Facing The Human Voice with Tilda Swinton we updated some sides of the story, especially when she tries to convince the partner not to quit her» says Pedro Almodóvar. «Tilda and I wanted to understand if could have been actual fair for her to say such things, because I thought nowadays any woman would have such outdated behaviours. That kind of mindset does not exist anymore».
Almodovar’s approach to Jean Cocteau’s masterpiece, although deferential, it’s been clear of philological duties. Cocteau wrote La voix humaine in 1928 and was brought on stage for th first timein France1930. In 1958 Francis Poulenc made a 40 minutes one-act musical adaptation for soprano and orchestra.
Two icons embodied the desperation of the jilted lover on screen. Anna Magnani in 1948 and Sofia Loren in 2014. Anna Magnani performance was the first episode of the movie L’amore. The segment was directed by Roberto Rossellini, a classic sample of fiction and reality painfully interlaced. During the shooting Magnani and Rossellini were facing the end of their sentimental relationship. It was different for Sofia Loren. She was directed by her son Edoardo Ponti who wanted to celebrate his mother talent. Loren won a special David di Donatello award for her performance.
Almodovar says that Cocteau’s The Human Voice was the source of inspiration for his terrific Women on the verge of nervous breakdown (1988). Fifteen months after the outstanding and autobiographical Dolor y Gloria that led Antonio Banderas to best actor award in Cannes and a year after Leone d’oro alla carriera, Almodóvar comes back at Lido with this medium-lenght film that celebrates the art of this year Leone d’oro alla carriera Tilda Swinton and it is also a metaphor of lockdown solitude.
HUMAN VOICE
Spain 2020, Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar Cast: Tilda Swinton, Runtime 30’
Oscar Cosulich
