"The Room Next Door" Director Pedro Almodovar: Humans should be masters of their own lives [Director's Interview Vol. 469]

Spanish master director Pedro Almodovar, now over 70 years old, is taking on his first English-language feature film. The Room Next Door, a free adaptation of Sigrid Nunes's original novel The Room Next Door (published by Hayakawa Publishing), tells the story of Martha, who is afflicted with cancer and wants to end her life, and her best friend Ingrid, who asks her to be present for her final moments. Tilda Swinton, who hit it off with Almodovar while working on a short film (The Human Voice ), and Julianne Moore, who met the director for the first time but perfectly understood his intentions and played the role of an observer, make a great pair of action and stillness.

However, contrary to the dark subject of "incurable disease," this film has a refreshing quality that celebrates the wonder of living, looking back on life in the face of death, and the director's distinctive colorful color scheme brings about an uplifting feeling. We spoke to director Almodovar about this film, which won the Golden Lion at last year's Venice International Film Festival.

The Room Next Door Synopsis

Martha (Tilda Swinton), a former war journalist, and Ingrid (Julianne Moore), a novelist, are old friends who worked together at the same magazine company when they were young. After not hearing from her for years, Ingrid learns that Martha has terminal cancer, and they spend their days talking in her hospital room to make up for the time they had not seen each other. Meanwhile, Martha refuses treatment and wishes to die peacefully of her own volition. She wants to be with someone nearby when she dies, and asks Ingrid to be in the room next to her when that day comes. After much deliberation, Ingrid decides to be by her side during her final moments, and they begin living in a small house in the woods that Martha rented. Martha then leaves behind the words, "If the door to my room closes, I'm no longer in this world," and so begins the final days of her short, irreplaceable life.

Index

• I wanted to make a film full of light.
• Man should be the master of his own life

I wanted to make a film full of light.

Q: This is your first English-language feature film, but you previously shot two English-language short films, " The Human Voice " (20) and " Strange Ways of Life " (23). Was it the experience of these two films that made you decide to shoot this one in English?

Almodóvar: No, I think I would have made this film anyway even if I hadn't made the short film. The main reason was that I was attracted to the original book. But both short films were a very enjoyable experience. I was able to make them freely, as if I was making a film for the first time, and I gained confidence in making a film in English.

Another big reason I shot it in the US is that the film deals with euthanasia, which is legal in Spain, just like in Switzerland. So this story wouldn't work in Spain. My film isn't an analysis or criticism of American society, but in today's American society, assisted suicide is a crime, so Ingrid is put in a very dangerous position.

"The Room Next Door" ©2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. ©El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más.

Q: Martha says she's not afraid of death, but Ingrid says she's scared of it and doesn't want to think about it. How do you view death?

Almodovar: I was born and raised in La Mancha, where there is a strong traditional culture surrounding death. However, it was mostly women who talked about death. It was a common sight to see women in the neighborhood gather together and talk about the people who had died. I think that these memories are unconsciously reflected in my films. On the other hand, men did not talk about death, and I am afraid of death, just like Ingrid. Maybe I am immature as a person, but I cannot organize the idea of death in my head. However, it is a theme that I think about every day. I am 75 years old now, and I wonder, for example, how many more films I can make, and how many more films I can make, since I want to keep making films until I die.

Q: The theme of death actually appears often in your work, including your previous film , Pain and Glory (2019). Why are you attracted to this theme?

Almodovar: For one thing, death is decisive for everyone. It's certain that everyone will die. Of course, the opposite of that, life, is also certain and gives a powerful feeling, but in this film, death functions as an element that activates the story. Although the film deals with death and pain, I didn't want to put them in the frame as much as possible. That's because I wanted to make this film a light-filled, lively film. I think the pain was depicted more in the frame in the previous film. Moreover, I didn't want to treat the characters in this film as victims of illness.

Man should be the master of his own life