19/37
Both of them had Julianne Moore in mind
Line of Events
Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.. When Pedro Almodóvar sent Tilda Swinton the script, he asked her who should play Ingrid. Featured in The 7PM Project: Episode dated September 8, 2024 (2024).
It’s beautiful, it’s touching, it’s meaningful
Seeing an Almodovar movie in English is a bit weird. This is such a quintessential Spanish director that the lack of Spanish (apart from one short sentence) seems to take away an essential element from the movie. But even in English, Almodovar stays Almodovar, just like Woody Allen stayed Woody Allen in his French film. Not many films combine those three qualities.
Far from it
It seems as though with every new movie he directs, he gets closer to the purest film making. In this case, it’s a story about two friends who both have to come to grips with death. Martha is dying of cancer and wants euthanasia, Ingrid is an old friend who is afraid of death but nevertheless agrees to accompany Martha in her last days. Let me assure you: it is not.
His sets are, as usual, carefully designed
There are far more happy moments than sad ones. Even Martha embraces life in her last moments, because she wants to spend them in a stunningly luxurious villa in the woods.Almodovar once again creates a world of beauty, full of color and aesthetics. But this is also a very moving film, showing how valuable good friendships can be and how, even in death, dignity and respect are essential values. Martha and Ingrid watch movies by Buster Keaton and John Huston.
The difference: Almodovar adds some Spanish warmth and colour
But the most obvious influence, I think, is Ingmar Bergman. Not only is the story reminiscent of Bergman’s Persona, but the whole movie has a Bergman-esque feel to it. Just like many Bergman movies, it relies heavily on dialogue, tackles themes like death and religion, and has a limited number of characters.
