The Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar made history this Saturday by winning the Golden Lion of the 81st Venice Film Festival with his first English-language feature film, “The room next door“a film about euthanasia, a “fundamental right,” he said.
Almodóvar made this defense of the right to die with dignity at a ceremony that had its dramatic moment when the award for best actress was announced, for star Nicole Kidman for “Babygirl.”
The Australian was unable to collect the award because she learned of her mother’s death just as she arrived in Venice.
“On my arrival in Venice I learned of the death of my mother, Janelle Kidman. I am in shock and must meet my family. This award is for her,” read the film’s director, Halina Reijn, with emotion.
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A DIGNIFIED DEATH
Almodóvar’s film (“The Room Next Door” in English) tells the story of a veteran journalist (Tilda Swinton) who decides to commit suicide due to incurable cancer. The patient asks an old friend (Julianne Moore) to accompany her in her final days.
“Saying goodbye to this world with dignity is a fundamental right,” Almodóvar said when accepting the award.
Euthanasia, said the Spanish director, “is not a political issue, but a human issue.”
“I know that this right violates any religion or creed that has God as its only source of life (…) I would ask the practitioners of any creed to respect and not intervene in individual decisions in this regard,” he added.
At a Mostra packed with Hollywood stars, Almodóvar, at 74 years of age, once again proclaimed himself the most influential director in the history of Spanish cinema, now also with his first feature film in the United States, after years of doubts and some failed projects.
A film full of dialogue and with a melancholic tone, it is a typical work of Almodóvar from the last decade, prone to meditating on death, physical pain or the passage of time.
“I can’t understand why something that is alive has to die. Death is everywhere, but it’s something I’ve never fully understood,” Almodóvar told the press when he presented the film.
The award marks Almodóvar’s return to the podium at the Mostra since 1988, when he won the award for best screenplay for “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.”
The 81st Mostra award for best director went to American Brady Corbet, an actor with only a handful of films under his belt, who created “The Brutalist,” an intense film lasting almost three and a half hours.
The award for best male performance went to French actor Vincent Lindon, 65, who plays the father of a young man drawn to the far right in “Jouer avec le feu.”
The award for best screenplay went to Brazilians Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega for “Ainda Estou Aquí,” directed by Walter Salles.
The film tells the story of the kidnapping and disappearance of engineer and politician Rubens Paiva in 1971, and the script is an adaptation of the book written by the victim’s son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva.
“Cinema is a great tool against oblivion,” explained the Brazilian director.
The jury prize went to an Italian film of historical content, “Vermiglio”, by Maura Delpero.
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The film tells the story of a Sicilian deserter who takes refuge in a village in the Alps during World War II.
The jury also awarded the prize for artistic risk to Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April, a wordless film that tells the disturbing story of a doctor who is equally dedicated to childbirth and abortions in her country.
“April” won the special jury prize.
The award for best emerging actor went to Frenchman Paul Kircher for his role in “Leurs Enfants Après Eux”, another film with a social tone.
CSAS
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2024-09-11 16:51:30