THE HUMAN VOICE – Tilda Swinton delivers a fascinating performance in this 30-minutes-long film directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Loosely based on Jean Cocteau’s play, the film—except for the opening scene, where the protagonist is seen buying an axe at a hardware store in Madrid—takes place in an apartment where she is talking on her cellular phone with her lover. We only hear her voice, and from that reference, we could see that the relationship is coming to an end. A sad, although at times, not lacking in some notes of black humour, but an end to what seemed to have been a meaningful relationship in some undefined old days.
Although the conversation is held in different parts of the home, she leaves the place to reveal to the spectator that she just was on a movie set. This move, out of the story’s physical location, adds a new sort of surrealistic twist to the conversation, again playing with the reality of the whole action.
“The Human Voice” is basically telling us about the power of oral communication beyond the physical space constraints. Moreover, the physical space, in the end, might be destroyed, leaving behind only the echoes of what was said. The human voice indeed.
This movie makes us think about communication. Of course, it gives us also many possibilities to interpret what is said and what we see.
On-screen in various movie theatres. Duration: 30 min
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