In “The Room Next Door” friends overcome their fears and their limitations through contact with each other

How would you respond if a friend suffering from incurable cancer asked you to accompany her to a peaceful retreat where she would choose her moment to die? This is the premise of Pedro Almodovar’s new film, adapted from the novel by Sigrid Núñez. So what is your pain? (Stock, 2023). For his first American feature film in English, Almodovar remained faithful to his universe. We find his vibrant color palette in sets and costumes, his penchant for quotations from other works of art with which his characters like to surround themselves and his passion for actresses who reflect him well. Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore have great fun playing these two friends who are torn apart by professional life and who learn to overcome their fears and their limitations through contact with each other. with this next roomAlmodóvar continues his evolution towards greater restraint in his plotting and staging, beginning with Juliet (2016).

Wild Nights are nothing more than distant memories for its characters, who, with the burden of years, look back on their journey from a distance, while still wanting to enjoy life until the end. As if the confrontation with death had given his present even more intensity. The final, almost miraculous appearance of snow adds a spiritual dimension to this masterpiece of harmony.

Pedro Almodovar explores human relationships

He gained international recognition in the 1980s with Madrid’s Movida’s Favorite Child Women are on the verge of nervous breakdown (1989) at stiletto heels (1992). all about my mother (1999), his first mature film, led him to explore human relationships in all their ambiguities. enriching his characters with his experiences, bad education (from 2004) pain and glory (2019), he knows how to share the strongest emotions with his audience, while avoiding pathos.

With Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro. In theaters on January 8.