Two women, close friends in their youth, reunite in New York. Years ago, as their paths diverged, Ingrid became a successful autofiction writer, while Martha threw herself into her work as a war reporter, growing distant from her daughter. Now, with time running out and experimental cancer therapy not fulfilling the expectations, Martha is ready to bare her soul to Ingrid. Their conversations bring back old memories and evoke uncertainty about the future. Martha entrusts her friend with a special request – one that draws a line between life and death.

Perhaps Pedro Almodóvar’s twenty-third feature film is not only a confession of the fear of death but also a song of praise to the colours red and blue, as well as to Ingmar Bergman’s dualistic puzzle in Persona (1966). Perhaps also a tribute to mohair, alpaca, and other wool fibres – the saturated sweaters worn by Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton’s characters become the film’s third main protagonist. The intense crescendo of the melodrama genre, infused with sincere, penetrating humour, received the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Rolling up his sleeves and directing his first feature in English, Almodóvar anchors it in colour codes, visual storytelling, his signature saturated mise-en-scène, and outstanding acting performances. He guides the viewer through existential anguish, a sweetened farce, the acceptance of death and the symmetry of life, as movingly highlighted by Martha, played by Swinton.