Pedro Almodóvar Speaks on His New Film ‘The Room Next Door’ Being in ‘Favor of Euthanasia’: ‘There Should Be the Possibility’ to Do It ‘All Over the World’
variety.comJulianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, deals with a controversial topic: euthanasia. Marking Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, “The Room Next Door” stars the two Oscar winners as Ingrid (Moore) and Martha (Swinton), who were close friends in their youth when they worked at the same magazine.
After years of separation, they meet again when Martha is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to take her life into her own hands.
During the film’s Venice Film Festival press conference on Monday, the Spanish auteur spoke passionately about addressing the subject in the film and why he thinks it should be an option for those facing the same fate. “This movie is in favor of euthanasia,” he said, speaking in Spanish. “It is something we admire about the character of Tilda, she decides that getting rid of cancer can only be done by making the decision she actually makes. ‘If I get there before, cancer will not win over me,’ she says.
And so she finds a way to reach her objective with the help of her friend, but they have to behave as if they were criminals.” Almodóvar’s home country of Spain legalized euthanasia in 2021, and he believes the rest of the globe should follow suit. “There should be the possibility to have euthanasia all over the world,” he said to applause from reporters. “It should be regulated and a doctor should be allowed to help his patient.” Although the film is clearly about death, stars Moore and Swinton highlighted the ways in which it also celebrates life.
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