Room in Rome (2010)

A Spanish woman and a Russian woman meet in a bar in Rome, both on their last night in the city, and end up back in a hotel room together. After a tenuous start they end up in bed together, and over the course of the night they get to know each other. But if you knew you wouldn't see somebody again, how much of yourself would you let them see?

I just came back from a trip to Rome, so it seemed like a good moment to cross another one off the Julio Medem watchlist. I went to the trouble of tracking down the exact location from the opening shot - I passed very close on my wanders but probably not right where the room is... or was, since the building it is in appears to have been demolished, as there is a small piazza there now.

The film's premise is interesting: two strangers who know they will part in the morning, free to be whoever they want to be (seen as). The false identities they present at first are slowly peeled away as they open up to each other more honestly, connecting more deeply as they expose deeper layers.

This metaphorical undressing is not mirrored literally - in fact they strip almost as soon as they reach the room, and spend almost the entire film naked. I suppose being physically naked is only the first step in revealing oneself to another person.

Unfortunately the execution is less interesting than the premise, struggling to generate a real sense of a profound connection being forged, despite telling us it's happening (repeatedly). In moments of passion things do take on a sense of profundity for the participants that is objectively not justifiable, but I think Julio Medem wanted to depict that subjective experience, and for me at least it doesn't capture it.

Interesting idea and the Jocelyn Pook soundtrack was a nice surprise, but the film seems much longer than it needs to be. It would probably have been more effective as short, a brisker pace might have more effectively conveyed the sense of being caught up in a moment.