Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar has once again captured the hearts of cinephiles worldwide, marking a significant return to the prestigious Venice Film Festival. Accompanied by an illustrious cast that includes Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, Almodóvar introduced his latest cinematic endeavor, “The Room Next Door,” which has since become a festival sensation. This world premiere garnered an extraordinary standing ovation lasting nearly 20 minutes, the longest the festival has seen this year.
What makes “The Room Next Door” particularly noteworthy is that it signifies Almodóvar’s foray into English-language cinema. Known for his profoundly emotive and visually unique Spanish films, this debut into a new linguistic realm had fans and critics alike eagerly awaiting its release. In his director’s statement, Almodóvar revealed that his initial apprehension about working in English dissolved almost immediately. “My insecurity disappeared after the first table read with the actresses, with the exchange of the first indications,” he shared. “The language wasn’t going to be a problem, and not because I master English, but because of the total disposition of the whole cast to understand me and to make it easy for me to understand them.”
The narrative of “The Room Next Door” revolves around the lives of two estranged friends, Ingrid and Martha, portrayed by Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, respectively. The two characters first crossed paths at a magazine job in their youth but eventually took radically different life directions. Ingrid pursued a career as a novelist, while Martha became a war reporter. Fate brings them back together in New York years later when Ingrid discovers that Martha is battling cancer and is confined to a nearby hospital.
As the story unfolds over weeks and months, the two women reconnect, sharing intimate stories of their present lives and delving into Martha’s distant relationship with her daughter. Their exchanges are deeply revealing, providing a poignant exploration of friendship, loss, and reconciliation.
Before the film’s debut, Swinton recalled her long-standing admiration for Almodóvar’s work. “It would never have occurred to me that Almodóvar might eventually find a space for me in one of his films,” Swinton confessed. She reminisced about her first encounter with his work, saying, “I have worshipped in his high church ever since seeing ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’ in the late 1980s in London.” Despite her admiration, Swinton had doubts about ever collaborating with him due to the language barrier. “I still feel like a student seeing his first film,” she said. However, Swinton eventually gathered the courage to approach him with a proposition: “I said, ‘Listen I’ll learn Spanish for you, you can make me mute,’” to which Almodóvar responded with his characteristic laugh.
Almodóvar’s history with the Venice Film Festival is extensive, stretching back to 1983 when he began his directorial journey. His last appearance at the festival was in 2021 with “Parallel Mothers,” a film that earned Penelope Cruz the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. He was also honored with a lifetime achievement award in 2019.
. Reflecting on his origins, Almodóvar remarked, “I was born as a film director in 1983 in Venice.” His rapport with Venice has grown significantly over four decades, bolstered by frequent returns with critically acclaimed works including the iconic “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.”
The filmmaker expressed immense pride in the leading actresses of his latest film. “Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore carry the weight of the whole film on their shoulders, and they are a spectacle. I have been fortunate in that both give a veritable recital. At times during shooting, both the crew and I were on the verge of tears watching them. It was a very moving shoot and, in some way, blessed,” he shared.
Though the story encompasses themes of death and dying, it ultimately conveys a celebration of life. When Martha asks Ingrid to join her in upstate New York for her final days, conversations around life, rather than death, take prominence. Swinton elaborated on this unique portrayal: “We talked a lot about life, but we didn’t really talk about death. What can you say? You can talk about dying,” she noted. “This film is a portrait of self-determination … This feeling of (death) being a celebration felt for me very real and very relatable, and I can’t say that I wouldn’t act in the same way if I were in her shoes.”
Both Swinton and Moore emphasized their excitement about a film that spotlights a profound female friendship, especially between older women. “We very, very rarely see a story of female friendship and especially a story about female friends who are older,” Moore remarked. “The importance that he shows us is so unusual and was so moving to me that he portrayed this relationship as so profound, because it is.”
As “The Room Next Door” competes in the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival, its reception has set a high bar for other contenders including the films “Maria” and the yet-to-premiere “Queer” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.” The winners will be announced on September 7th.
Sony Pictures Classics has secured the film’s distribution rights and is set to release “The Room Next Door” in theaters this December. As audiences around the world eagerly await its arrival, the long-standing ovation in Venice stands as a testament to Almodóvar’s enduring cinematic genius.
