10 January 2025.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR ***1/2
A Pedro Almadovar film is a special event – he seldom fails, he is a regular in the top film festivals, and this one continues his reputation as a master filmmaker. It has all his trademarks – bright, radiant colours – in the decor of the homes, the clothes and even the makeup of the actresses. It is once again about women, the sex that Almadovar loves and understands fully. And it has a deep and controversial subject which he as always manages to make beautiful – mortality, euthanasia and exceptional friendship.
The 75 year-old Almadovar has been making films, starting with short ones, since the 1970s and has accumulated a closet-full of trophies from the Oscars, BAFTAs, Golden Globes and the Spanish Goyas for his some 40 features in his typical style of acutely personal tales in an almost pop, aesthetic form.
The one difference in this latest oeuvre is that it is in English, a new venture for the famed Spanish director. And he has picked two sublime actresses, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, to be his latest muses. It’s both a simple and yet complicated tale – about two friends who meet up after many years and renew their bond at an intense time when Swinton’s character has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and both are faced with a momentous decision.
Beautifully written, acted and filmed, it won the Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Film Festival after an 18-minute standing ovation at its premiere. Austere, thought-provoking yet very moving, it is simply mesmerising.
BIRD **
I did not care for the characters or the grungy milieu. It has had much hype and positive reviews, especially that it’s by the talented English filmmaker Andrea Arnold, whose past award-winning films have included Fish Tank and American Honey. I very much appreciated those others, but this is a difficult one to swallow, a slow-going study of a difficult coming-of-age saga.
By the way – there’s an excellent retrospective of Classic Italian Cinema at the Grütli until 16 January. Check it out on their site or pick up their brochures at the Grütli. There is always much going on there – Geneva’s own unofficial Cinematheque!
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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