Synopsis: A young Russian woman named Natasha is soon to be married and is on holiday in Rome where she meets Alba. She accompanies Alba to her hotel room as a curious acquaintance and stays as a growing friend. In this room in Rome, the two women come to know one another intimately over the course of the night, and explore. A hotel room in the center of Rome serves as the setting for Alba and Natasha, two young and recently acquainted women, to have a physical adventure that touches their very souls.
Room in Rome | |
---|---|
Directed by | Julio Medem |
Written by | Julio Medem |
Produced by | Julio Medem Alvaro Longoria |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Alex Catalán |
Edited by | Julio Medem |
Music by | Jocelyn Pook |
| |
109 minutes | |
Country | Spain |
Languages | English, Spanish, Russian |
Room in Rome (Spanish: Habitación en Roma) is a 2010 Spanish eroticromanticcomedy-drama film, depicting the emotional and sexual relations of two women (Alba and Natasha) throughout a single night in a hotel room in Rome. The plot is loosely based on another film, In Bed. Room in Rome was Julio Medem's first English language film.[1]
Plot[edit]
During the first day of the summer in June, Alba (Elena Anaya), a 30-something Spanish tourist in Rome, brings a younger Russian woman Natasha (Natasha Yarovenko) to her hotel room during both of their last night of vacation in Rome. The details of how they met in a nightclub are left vague. Once in the room, Natasha is at first quite reluctant, insisting she's straight, but the clearly more experienced Alba handles deftly around Natasha's hesitance. Flattered and tempted by Alba, Natasha responds to her sexual advances, but continues to maintain that she is straight and has never had sex with a woman. Alba counters by claiming that she is a lesbian and has never had sex with a man.
Alba and Natasha first get undressed and into bed, but Natasha is still very nervous. Alba suggests that they first lay side by side and only casually touch each other's faces. They do so until Alba becomes so relaxed that she falls asleep. Natasha quietly gets out of bed, gets dressed and leaves the room, wondering what would have happened if she stayed and consummated her curiosity and attraction to Alba. In her rush to leave, Natasha leaves her cell phone behind, and the ring-tone wakes up Alba. Natasha soon returns and asks Alba for her cell phone, but is reluctant to enter the room again. When a passing night-shift waiter named Max passes by, Alba grabs Natasha and takes her back into the room. While talking about the location of Natasha's hotel and looking at an old map of Rome from the 1st century, Alba continues to flirt with Natasha with her naked body. Natasha soon succumbs to her attraction and curiosity towards Alba, leading her to quickly get undressed once again and into bed where she and Alba have sex for the first time.
Over the next 10 hours, Alba and Natasha grow closer to each other as Natasha becomes more relaxed and comfortable around Alba with their lovemaking. Alba and Natasha share stories, periodically stopping to illustrate their points with pictures on the Internet, talk about the artwork in the hotel room, and explore each other's nude bodies through sex. Alba first tells a story about how her mother abandoned her when she was a little girl and she ended up as the kept woman of a wealthy Arab in Saudi Arabia, while Natasha later shares a story of her abusive father and her twin sister's career as an art historian.
Eventually, the two women tell each other the truth. Natasha reveals that her real name is Dasha who comes from a wealthy family living near Moscow and that she is actually a professional tennis player on vacation, and is to be married the following week in Russia to a man. Natasha's twin sister, Sasha, a model and career actress, phones her at least twice during the film to ask of her whereabouts and wedding plans. Alba then reveals that she is actually a mechanical engineer/inventor in Rome on business and she lives with a woman in San Sebastian, Spain. Alba shows Natasha a video of herself and her life partner, named Edurne, who have two small children, a little boy and girl, and who are of Basque origin. Alba also says that the little boy died recently in a drowning accident.
Natasha and Alba have breakfast together at dawn, which is served by the cheerful room service waiter, Max. They discuss abandoning their partners and living together in Rome, but both seem to realize that this is not possible. While Alba tells Natasha that she feels she is falling in love with her, Natasha gets more defensive and insists that her attraction to Alba only stems from curiosity towards the same sex, but not through love. After having sex a final time and then hanging the white bed sheet up a flagpole on the balcony of the room as a gag, the two one-time lovers eventually decide to part ways, returning to their previous lives in Russia and Spain. They both agree to let the passionate night they shared remain a secret between them. In the final shot, after leaving the hotel and walking away from each other, Natasha calls out to Alba and runs towards her to show off her sprint running skills.. leaving their parting ambiguous to if they will ever meet again.
Production[edit]
The film was shot almost entirely on a sound stage in Madrid, Spain as the hotel room setup. The location of the hotel in the film is an empty square called Piazzetta di San Simeone, the same square used in opening and closing shots of the film.[2]
Principal photography took place in Rome and Madrid from 26 January to 27 February 2009.
Reception[edit]
May 5, 2010 Jonathan Holland of Variety magazine described it as 'typically challenging, potentially divisive item from Spanish auteur Julio Medem, and a partial return to form', but despite praising the acting and craft of the film Holland writes 'there’s the sense that he’s more interested in his ideas than in his people.'[3]
References[edit]
- ^'Room in Rome'. Spanish Film Festival. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
- ^Rivera, Alfonso (March 22, 2010). 'Interview: Julio Medem'. Cineuropa.org. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
- ^Jonathan Holland (May 5, 2010). 'Review: 'Room in Rome''. Variety.
External links[edit]
- Room in Rome at IMDb
- Room in Rome at Rotten Tomatoes
Loving strangers
Oh, oh
Loving strangers
Oh, oh
Loving strangers
Love, your love
Loving strangers
Oh, oh, oh
Oh..
- Yeah.
- I know you're a good person.
So how long are you staying in Rome?
I fly back to Moscow tomorrow.
What a coincidence! So do I.
- You fly to Moscow?
- Back to Spain.
- This is my hotel.
- Mine is down there on the left.
- So, this is closer.
- For you, yes.
Room In Rome Wiki
- For you too.
- No.
Come on. Please, just a little
stop, to drink the last one. Ben 10 vilgax attacks psp download cso.
We drankplenty in the bar.
Mm, yes, but we only talked about
Russia and Spain, not about us.
I prefer not to talk about us.
It's a deal.
- What is?
- We don't talk.
We can stay without talking, you know?
And even better.
See, that's my room.
It's got two flags.
Must be a reason, no?
Yes, one for Europe and one for Rome.
I'm talking about
what's in the middle.
- The middle flag is missing.
- Uh-huh, exactly.
That's because of you.
You have to come up and hang it there.
- And what do I hang there?
- I don't know.
Your clothes, for example.
You are long enough.
Hm. Come on.
I've never gone up to a woman's room.
It's just a hotel room in Rome.
If you keep pulling, youll win
and well end up in your hotel.
You choose.
- Drink?
- Wine.
Wine.
Sorry, what was your name?
I told you twice already.
Maybe at the third time I get it.
Natasha.
Natasha.
Was that the name you said before?
But you are not saying it right.
It's Nata-sha.
Sha.
- Sha.
- Sha.
Mm. And you are Alba, which
is Spanish for dawn.
That's my big moment. You'll see.
Tonight is the first
night of the summer.
Ah, yes, that's right, in Europe.
In Russia, summer has already
begun, the first of June.
Really? Do you have summer in Russia?
Of course. Well, it's Russian summer.
Mm-hm.
And this is my last night in Rome.
Mine too.
You're not on your own, little Russian.
You know for sure this is
the shortestnight of the year,
here and in Russia, so we
have to make the most of it.
I'm not..
- I'm not a..
- What?
Come on, you're a woman,
and..and Im a woman
and we were drinkingalone at a bar
and we exchanged looks
and felt attracted to one another.
Isn't that how it works?
It's the first time in my life
I look like this at a woman.
Uh-huh.
Never before a womanlooked at me this way.
It's not the first time
you look at a woman like this.
But everywoman is different.
Would you like to see me naked?
Mm-hm. I would love to.
Here?
Wherever you like.
Do you prefer inside?
- Yes.
- OK, let's go inside then.
I think it'll work better
if you undress me.
Shh.
It's OK.
Shh. It's OK.
It's OK.
We'll stay like this, close but
not touching, while you relax.
Yes?
It's better if you're asleep.
That way we don't have to say goodbye.
You're right.
I'll say a few words.
Goodbye, Alba.
Room In Rome Cast
I don't want to imagine
what might have happened.
This secret will stay
there, sleeping with you.
Thank you, Alba.
Goodbye.
Who changed my ring tone?
What the hell happened?
- Who is it?
- Natasha
Natasha, right.
I think Ive left my mobile
in your room.
- Did you hear it ringing?
- Yes, it woke me up, actually.
Room In Rome Movie Trailer
Sorry.
It must have fallen out of my bag.
I'm very tired and I
want to go to my hotel.
Come in and take it.
It's waiting for you under the bed.
I'd rather not coma in again.
Why? What happened?
Nothing. Nothing, actually.
Nothing we have to regret.
- Why did you chew up my panties?
- I didn't chew anything.
See the state you left them in.
Good evening.
Good evening.
How thoughtful, Natasha!
Room In Rome Full
I wasn't expecting this.