Habitación en Roma

Habitación en Roma (2010) was released in the U.S. with the title Room in Rome. The film was written and directed by Julio Medem.

The movie stars Elena Anaya as Alba, a Spanish woman who meets a Russian woman, Natasha Yarovenko (Natasha) in a bar in Rome, and brings her back to her hotel room. The plot of the movie consists of the time the two women spend together overnight in the room.

It was hard for me to decide whether this film was soft core porn with a plot attached, or a serious work of art with lots of nudity. Elena Anaya is extremely beautiful, and Natasha Yarovenko is impossibly beautiful, so it would be hypocritical to complain about the nudity per se. However, for a review like this, it's important to help other people know what type of film they should expect when they walk into the theater or push "play" for the DVD. Arguments could be made for both points of view about whether this is a "serious" film.

Alba and Natasha do have some serious discussions, and what starts out as superficial banter becomes more soul-searching as the night progresses. Whether the two women are changed forever by the encounter is something each viewer will have to decide.

We saw this film at the Cinema Theatre as part of the first-rate ImageOut: Rochester Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. The presenter mentioned that, given the almost complete lack of clothes worn by either actor, Room in Rome was the festival film least likely to be nominated for Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards. (True, but in this case, less is more.)

As I said in my title I am a gay guy and thought this movie was just beautiful ! So for all the people who said it was only for lesbians and straight guys - it's not. It goes back to the old adage that love is love no matter what.

It has a lovely atmosphere and being mainly filmed in a hotel room gave it a surrealism and a closeness and an intimacy. Constantly shadowy and the use of autumnal hues added to that.

The sex is warm and intimate and is perfectly in context and not over the top or voyeuristic.

So sit back and lose yourself in two women's discovery of their sensuality and getting to know more and more about one another till you develop an empathy for them.

Well written and beautifully acted, 7 out of 10

I Enjoyed this film immensely.

Julio Medem's "Room in Rome" is the tale of a Spanish lesbian who, one night in Rome, picks up a Russian girl who has never been with a woman before. At first the girl is nervous and after some foreplay in the lesbian's hotel room, she gets cold feet and sneaks away while the other girl is sleeping. But she has forgotten her mobile phone. She returns to the hotel room and knocks on the door. The other girl answers the door naked just as a waiter comes to deliver food to the room next door. She doesn't cover herself up but tells the waiter they may want some food later. And so begins a night of games, fantasies, laughter, love-making and the baring of souls as well as bodies.

Medem has created a film of rare beauty, intoxicating romanticism and scorching eroticism. The girls spend almost the entire film nude, the camera slowly panning over their warmly lit skin and lingering in loving close-up on the passion-lit faces. To a soundtrack of lush pop music and opera and amidst the classical paintings that cover the walls and comment on the action, the girls engage in games of fabricated identity, only gradually pealing off the layers of fantasy to reveal the often tragic secrets that have made them who they are.

It is perhaps ironic that a film about a relationship between two women should be one that drew me into its story more deeply than any romantic film I can remember, and yet I could identify with both and fell in love with both. What makes the film so powerful is not the sex, erotic as that is, but the by turns playful and compassionate interactions between the women. This is an open spontaneous encounter between two people which necessarily changes them, and it is one which captures the rich joy of life.

The film has the classical beauty of a film by Bertolucci or Visconti, but unlike their best films, which tend to look at the darker side of life, "Room in Rome" is ultimately, in spite of some powerful moments of angst, a feel-good movie.

The only previous Medem film I've seen was "Sex and Lucia" (2001) which is another favourite which also featured a supporting role by Elena Anaya, who plays the lesbian in this film. I look forward to catching up with more of the work of this talented Spanish filmmaker.

When I first saw this in my local movie store, my first thought was "this is just going to be softcore." When I watched it, I was intrigued by it. I mean, yes, it is heavily sexual, but it feels like less of a adult film, and more of just an exploration of the human mind when going through sexual encounters. Overall, very, very good.

Reading the reviews that other people have written it seems that people either 'get' this movie or they don't.

Some people just seem to see it as a pseudo-erotic softcore film starring a couple of naked chicks, whereas other people see it as a beautiful piece of cinematography.

If you're amongst the latter, cool, if you're the former you might be best sticking to Saw IV and the like :-) Room in Rome is a well thought-out, cleverly scripted, and beautifully shot film. Yes, it is highly erotic, but it is never seedy or smutty. Yes, it is romantic, but it is never sickly or sweet.

If you enjoy European cinema then you're probably going to love this film. If you don't then you're probably best giving it a miss.