A recent feat achieved by Pedro Almodovar’s film, The Room Next Door, and which has opened new frontiers for filmmakers globally, was the 17 minutes ovation in the Venice Film Festival. Having won many fans for his spellbinding stories that are always combined with great depth and cabin fever explorations, the Spanish film director proved his skill and his audiences once again were shocked.
Everything began at the Venice Film Festival, which promoted the movie that primarily represents the perfect love-destroying theme contributing to loneliness, desires and development out of a deep desire for communication. The plot of the film The Room Next Door revolves around two people who have adjacent houses in a run-down building and are strangers with each other whose lives however are mysteriously quiet linked. The intriguing movie which combines a touch of both melodrama and stale gloom filled introspection without forgetting splendid comic interact, is this movie – The room next door has become one of the achievers of the International festival this year.
Challenging costumes and heavy makeup aside; the critics and the audience were impressed with the emotional evolution and carefully penned characters created by Almodovar. Another source of pride was the lead roles taken by two long-time fans of Almodovar, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas. Both actors earned great accolades for their roles in the film. Cruz played the tormented woman filled with grief while Banderas portrayed a tortured man trying to find peace, letting the brilliant work done by them amplify the worth of the movie even further.
The Audience Award at the Venice Film Festival has, on many occasions, been helpful in predicting how well or poorly a particular film will be received. It is this praise that clearly indicates the bond that The Room Next Door was able to foster with its audience. Almodóvar, his heart full of emotion, accepted the praise from the audience, coming back on the scene together with his cast and crew whom he had been separated from temporarily as they sought shelter from the photocall’s blitz.
Through The Room Next Door, Almodóvar has once more proved why he is one of the most relevant voices in the art of cinema today. The film is already latching onto the potential for an Oscar and, judging from the Venice viewings, the film will also do well in the forthcoming award season. As The Room Next Door moves further into its festival circuit, audiences everywhere are anticipating this film’s eventual wide release, and impact on viewers worldwide.
