Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

Incredibly, this is Almodóvar's first ever winner at a major European Festival (Venice this year), and it comes with his first English language film. Taking on the very topical issue of assisted dying, he nails his 'colours' firmly to the 'yes' camp here, whilst also showing his anger at the lack of movement over climate change.

Tilda Swinton's Martha is dying of cancer. She asks her old friend Ingrid (Julianne Moore) to be in 'the room next door' when she stops the pain by self-euthanising - in the next room to prevent Ingrid from becoming a criminal.

Almodóvar also uses the separate room concept to take on several side issues, as his films always do, in the conversations and flashbacks the two women share.

"'The Room Next Door' is about many things, but I took away two powerfully interconnected messages, beautifully rendered through Almodovar's inimitable melodramatic voice. The first is that, sometimes, nothing is more important than being present for someone else. Two, there is beauty in every moment on this earth if you look for it" – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com. Part of that beauty comes from films such as this: Almodóvar's colours flow through it all.