Almodóvar Returns to Venice with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar returns to the Venice Film Festival this Monday with his first English-language feature film, The Room Next Door, starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.

Set in New England, The Room Next Door is a reflective piece on death and friendship. Regular Almodóvar collaborator Tilda Swinton portrays a war correspondent battling terminal cancer, while Julianne Moore plays her close friend, a successful novelist, who stays by her side during her final moments.

John Turturro rounds out the leading cast in this film, which translates into English the themes of mortality and decline that Almodóvar has explored for years in his Spanish-language films.

"My insecurity vanished after the first table read with the actresses... Language wasn’t going to be an issue," Almodóvar said of his latest work, which premieres at Venice’s Lido on Monday evening.

"Dialogue is central in my films... In The Room Next Door, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore carry the entire film, and they are a spectacle," he added.

This isn’t Almodóvar’s first attempt at English-language cinema. His initial venture, the short film The Human Voice, starring Swinton as a heartbroken lover, premiered at Venice in 2020. Last year, he debuted Strange Way of Life, a short gay Western featuring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, at Cannes.

An iconic figure in Spanish cinema, Almodóvar initially made his name with eccentric black comedies like Pepi, Luci, Bom and What Have I Done to Deserve This? His breakout came with 1988’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which won best screenplay at Venice and an Academy Award for best foreign language film.

Over time, Almodóvar’s films have taken on a more introspective tone, evident in works like Talk to Her (2002), which earned him an Oscar for best original screenplay, and Bad Education (2004). His recent film Pain and Glory (2019) reflected on his life as a filmmaker, while Parallel Mothers (2021), the story of two women who give birth on the same day, won Penélope Cruz the best actress award at Venice.

Almodóvar's latest film is among 21 contenders for the prestigious Golden Lion award, which will be announced on September 7.