Berlinale 2025: Hot Milk (dir. Rebecca Lenkiewicz) | Review

Hot Milk premiered in the competition section of this year’s Berlinale, appropriately, on Valentine’s Day. The adaptation of Deborah Levy’s 2016 novel follows the complex relationship dynamics of three women; an older Irish lady – Rose, played by the excellent Fiona Shaw – her daughter – Sofia, played by Sex Education star Emma Mackey – and her lover – Ingrid, portrayed by Vicky Krieps. Physicality, sensuality and desire take centre stage in this short but sweet directorial debut from Rebecca Lenkiewicz. 

The film opens with Rose and Sofia arriving at their new home in Almeria, a town in sun-drenched southern Spain, with the hopes of curing Rose’s ambiguous ailment which sends spasms of pain through her body and seemingly prevents her from walking. The physicality of Shaw’s performance – of the pained, disabled body – is exceptional, although as an audience we are never quite sure if Rose’s illness is real, psychosomatic or entirely make believe. 

Mother and daughter have mortgaged their house in London to pay for a holistic treatment centre, led by Dr Gomez (Vincent Perez). As Rose’s physical and psychological therapy gets underway, Sofia’s frustration, resentment and boredom lead her to discovering the people and life of Almeria. Having put her anthropology studies on pause to care for her mother Rose, who gives little affection or gratitude in return, Mackey’s performance captures a young woman simmering with unlived potential, ready to burst at the seams. She soon falls in love with a captivating German traveller named Ingrid, whose apparent self-possession is matched only by her intensity and creativity. Their relationship is fluid and passionate, but always a little too far out of reach for Sofia, never quite pinned down, settled or discussed.

In the increasingly oppressive town, Sofia strains under the pressure of caring for her depressive, dependent mother whilst trying to capture her evasive lover on beaches, at the seaside cafe they frequent, or at Ingrid’s craft shop. Sofia clearly craves the independence and liberation that Ingrid represents, but struggles to feel fulfilled in their transient, non-committal relationship. Under the heat of the Andalucian sun, the three women grapple with their respective struggles; trying to love, care and help each other, but falling short of the mark on almost every occasion.

Hot Milk feels very of-the-moment, with the open, queer romance between Sofia and Ingrid, a languid southern European summer backdrop reminiscent of last year’s My Summer With Irene, the complex female dynamics, physicality and illness, and the hints towards Irish history and the Magdalene Laundries. The slow, beautiful pacing underscores the contemplation, sensuality and elusiveness of Levy’s novel. However, although the performance by Shaw in particular is incredibly compelling, the film failed to move me, falling a little flat; enjoyable, but not particularly memorable.

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