The Catholic Church has had a front row seat at previous editions of the Venice Film Festival with the likes of the controversial Spotlight and The Last Temptation of Christ.
At this year’s 81st rendition of the festival, Catholicism was reduced to cameo appearances. Though the film that won the coveted Golden Lion award dealt with a topic that the Church is finding itself increasingly caught up with: euthanasia.
This came courtesy Pedro Almodóvar, who was back at the Venice Lido with his first English language film The Room Next Door. In this cautionary tale about euthanasia, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore play childhood friends who reconnect in later life when Tilda's character is diagnosed with cancer. She puts Julianne’s character in an invidious position by begging her to assist in her euthanasia, having purchased a euthanasia pill on the dark web.
