•
Rating: Can death be made aesthetically beautiful?
I believe Almodovar has come very close to achieving it (not in the D'Annunzian sense, of course).
The almost ethereal figure of Tilda Swinton, dressed in yellow, on the green lounge chair, reminiscent of the Hopper painting reproduction inside the villa, the close-up on her made-up face, the fiery red lips, the black shadow of her profile that stands out against the green background and slowly fades, is an image that lingers and places itself directly in the history of cinema.
Almodovar has always had a taste for colors, even at the risk of being excessive. In this film, he is more restrained and measured, yet still achieves a spectacular result. Every detail is divinely curated, the red door, the brightly colored clothes, the green of the forest, the brown and white of the house. The environments are warm, reassuring; there isn’t a lamp, a book, a poster on the wall that is out of place or that doesn’t convey something. And then the close-ups, Tilda Swinton's silhouette lying on her back in front of the window, her tilted head joined by Moore's in the background, in the same position, intent on merging and splitting feelings of friendship, fear, disease. Even the New York apartment, with its plants, Moore's (which for Turturro appears furnished with dumpster finds), are warm and welcoming like the entire film. A film that is a true feast for the eyes.
Of course, the development of the story at times seems to proceed by theses, slightly over-the-top declarations, and somewhat forced empathies (see the personal trainer). Almodovar seems not content to simply dot all the "i"s regarding the issue of euthanasia but broadens the discourse to cover the end of the world, caused by neoliberalism, climate change, and right-wing governments. As usual (and as it rightly should be), he criticizes the Catholic religion and reminds us that sex is the only joyful and consolatory antidote to war. But he does this only en passant, at the center is ancient female friendship, illness, acceptance of the end, the dignity of the human being, but above all its beauty, which comes from literature, painting, cinema, the arts in general, and the masterful way of leading the camera to describe all this. A great film by a great director.
P.S. for debaserbot (others can skip this) who later complains about the lack of a nod to the plot and possible citations and/or awards won.
The story is simple, Tilda Swinton is a former war reporter and Julianne Moore is a writer. They are old friends who haven't seen each other for a long time. Moore learns that Swinton has cancer and goes to visit her. The treatments don't work, and Swinton opts for euthanasia, via a pill obtained on the dark web since it's illegal in New York State. But she doesn’t want to be alone, so she asks Moore to accompany her to a different location than home, not to assist her, but just to stay in the "next room".
The references are endless, chiefly Joice, but also cinema, Houston, Rossellini and painting, Hopper, and much more.
The film is based on the book "Attraverso la vita" by Sigrid Nunez and won the Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
On the same topic, there are many other films: I'll mention two that particularly struck me, though for different reasons, Ozon's 2021 film “It Went All Right” and the 2019 independent film “Paddleton” by Alex Lehmann.
Loading comments slowly
