A single story within a film can emit more meaning and value than a ten page essay.
Julio Medem’s ‘Room In Rome’ was released in 2010. It was a strange mix of a blockbuster film and a European art-house drama. Medem’s film depicts two women named Natasha and Elena and their adventure in a hotel room in Rome. The two women’s time in the hotel room goes way beyond the conventional physical activities. Aspects of love, lying, close bonds, and the beauties of life are highly explored .
The people of India were one of the countries that the film ‘Room In Rome’ most impacted. It was ‘revolutionary’ in the sense that, it was the first time the people of India were experiencing mainstream representation of same gender relations. The film impacted the culture of everyday life, modern and post modern pop culture, and even the fashion industry. The film transcended beyond the ordinary and mundane boundaries that define art.
How a Movie Became a Whispered Reference
In the early 2010s, the Spanish movie Room in Rome, like other films of the time, relied on physical, tangible copies, disks, and word of mouth. Friends considered it a “hidden gem” and it became common in college discussions. “Have you seen the Spanish movie with the two women in the room?” became an indicator of curiosity, and oftentimes, rebellion.
In Indian metropolises, it was the only film that was screened with an accompanying discussion that was eventful. For many, it was the first time that same sex love was not shown as a comic relief or a tragedy, but rather as a delicate and passionate bond. “Edgy” became a common descriptor in the youth culture and the phrase “feels like a Room in Rome night” was used to describe a night that was intense, confessional, and anything-goes.
Fashion, Memes, and the Aesthetic Spillover
But what I had not predicted was the extent to which the film’s aesthetics would penetrate fashion and meme culture. Alba’s oversized tops, Natasha’s flowing dresses, and the subtle yet sparse styling of the hotel rooms ignited discussions in various European and Asian lifestyle publications. In India, fashion bloggers embraced the concept of ‘intimacy wear,’ and all at once, ginormous white shirts, barefoot elegance, and plain cotton sheets, married to minimalist styling, started to feel profoundly cinematic.
Years later, memes based on the Room in Rome started circulating, where people joked about ‘how much can two people possibly talk in one night,’ and where playful edits of ‘Rome is just the third character in this relationship’ floated around. Even the more mainstream meme pages began to anaerobically inhale bits and pieces of the film, converting stills into relatable humor around lengthy conversations and spiraling WhatsApp discussions.
The Actors Who Became Icons by Accident
Elena Anaya was already a well-established name in Spanish cinema, but the movie Room in Rome brought her to the eyes of many across the globe. In India, many recognized her as the villainous character Dr. Poison in Wonder Woman, but still many whispered, ‘that is Alba from Room in Rome.’ Anaya herself was very open about the fact that the role required a great deal of emotional and physical vulnerability. And that is precisely the most difficult part about her character, which is to seduce and simultaneously be honest.
Natasha Yarovenko had a less notable reputation prior to the release of the film. After being portrayed in the Medem’s ‘daring’ cinematography, the film ‘Room in Rome’ had nabbed Yarovenko as a poster star and was famous overnight. She had also reported that ‘fame’ comes with ‘baggage’ or some downsides. She and the other actor, Anaya, in her interviews stated that they were typecast after the film, and noted that as directors, people failed to see the range of their performances other than the idea of playing ‘sensual European women’. Anaya, had gone to the extent of searching for roles such as in ‘The Skin I Live In’ as a means to bypass being typecast, to further explore one’s identity beyond being just a woman or sexuality.
In the eyes of the audience, the two actors were queer icons. In India, the clips and interviews of performances were widely circulated in LGBTQ+ forums for how genuine their acting was. The characters went beyond acting for a lot of queer women. Unlike most, these women were images that reflected them, even if in a distorted manner.
Ripples caused by the Room in Rome film
The critics were divided. Some critics thought that Room in Rome was a gentle take on human connection, while other critics thought it to be over the top. Regardless of the opinions, the praise and the faults brought more attention to the film. The headlines started to wonder if it was a movie or a piece of art, and other more conservative people from Europe and Asia started to criticize it and claim it was made to shock people.
Naturally, similar debates arose in India. Even though the film did not get a theatrical release, pirated copies and festival screenings made it inescapable. This prompted discussions about what was missing in Indian cinema. What about queer narratives, the stories of women’s fantasies told without apology and without being silenced? In film societies and in the classrooms, there was a tendency to use Room in Rome as the standard of what was possible for Indian filmmakers if only the censorship and the stigma were a little less suffocating.
Beyond the Curtains of Rome
Room in Rome had its own sets of stories to tell. For example Julio Medem, the director, wanted the film to be a sort of a ‘closed experiment’ and hence designed it to feel more like a theatrical experiment wherein everything hinged on the bond of the performers. The filming was also ‘intimate’ in the sense that it had a small crew, a restricted number of locations and, had long practice periods during which particpants Anaya and Yarovenko were asked to improvise dialogues.
One little known fact was that a lot of the dialogues in the movie were altered on the set: Medem did not want the actresses to appear as though they were reading a script. The effect was eavesdropping on actual, private and real conversations. The set for the hotel was also intended to be a reflection of their feelings: it was still sparse and bland, but it had a soft light that changed in small rays with the arrival of dusk.
Reason For Continued Relevance in Popular Culture
More than 10 years later, Room in Rome continues to be mentioned in conversations which try to evaluate LGBTQ representation in film. For some, it’s a work of art which is pleasurable without justification, while for others, it is linked to more meaningful moments of self-realization. The cultural wave which it generated in India, as well as abroad, went beyond just box office collections. It was about private showings, discreet conversations, and the excitement of experiencing a narrative that unapologetically focused on the intimacy of women.
Since then, Room in Rome’s place in queer cinema has somewhat advanced. However, it continues to be a reference point, both in a progressive and a regressive manner. It demonstrated that one room, one night, and two women is all it takes to ignite a conversation on a global scale.