Berlin International Film Festival, drama, Elisavet Liosi, Emma Mackey, film festivals, Fiona Shaw, Hot Milk, Korina Gougouli, LGBTQ, movies, Paris Thomopoulous, Patsy Ferran, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, reviews, Spain, Vangelis Mourikis, Vicky Krieps, Vincent Perez, Yann Gael
June 29, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Some language in Spanish with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in Spain and briefly in Greece, the dramatic film “Hot Milk” (based on the novel of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A British grad student has an affair with a mysterious older woman during a visit in Spain, as the student becomes increasingly resentful of being her disabled mother’s caregiver.
Culture Audience: “Hot Milk” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and dramas about family caregivers, but the movie’s unfocused style and cliffhanger ending will be a turnoff to many viewers.
“Hot Milk” will leave viewers cold by its vague ending. This dull drama is about a pouting grad student who’s resentful of being her disabled mother’s caregiver while having an uncertain romance with a woman. The movie takes place in gorgeous locations in Europe, but the scenes wander and have as much direction as a lost tourist.
Written and directed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, “Hot Milk” is based on the 2016 novel by Deborah Levy. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. “Hot Milk” takes place in Spain and briefly in Greece but was filmed in Greece.
In “Hot Milk,” Sofia (played by Emma Mackey) is a grad student whom her mother Rose (played by Fiona Shaw) describes as “a perpetual student of anthropology.” Sofia and Rose live together in London, but the movie only shows Sofia and Rose together in Spain. It’s implied that Sofia has lived with Rose for Sofia’s entire life.
Rose and Sofia are visitors staying in the coastal city of Almeria, Spain, because of an experimental medical treatment for Rose, who uses a wheelchair. Dr. Gomez (played by Vincent Perez)—who is handsome, empathetic, and in is 40s—is overseeing this treatment. He is assisted by a young nurse named Julieta (played by Patsy Ferran), who is helpful and friendly.
Conversations in the movie reveal these details: Sofia’s estranged Greek father Christos (played by Vangelis Mourikis) is a shipping heir who left the family when Sofia was 4 years old. It was the same age that Sofia was when Rose (a native of Ireland) lost the ability to use her legs, although Rose admits that she can walk at random times that Rose says she can’t predict. No medical reason is given for why Rose has to use a wheelchair, but the movie hints that Rose’s medical condition could be psychosomatic. Dr. Gomez asks a lot of questions that sound like questions a psychiatrist would ask.
Rose mortgaged her house for the £25,000 cost to get this medical treatment from Dr. Gomez. Sofia and Rose are staying at an upscale resort area near a beach. Rose (who is a retired librarian) is prickly and is very judgmental of other people. Sofia is quiet and introverted.
How difficult is Rose? During a restaurant lunch that Rose, Sofia and Dr. Gomez have together, Rose says she wants to sit at another table away from Dr. Gomez because he’s eating fish, and Rose is allergic to fish. Dr. Gomez handles the situation like a patient parent handles a bratty child, by telling Rose that if she has an allergic reaction to him eating fish, he can take care of it for her. Rose decides to stay at the same table.
The movie opens with Sofia lounging on a beach. Expect to see more of this type of beach lounging in “Hot Milk,” because Sofia spends at least 30% of the movie hanging out at a beach. During one of these lounging periods at the beach, Sofia sees a woman riding past on a horse. Sofia and the woman look at each other in a way that indicates mutual interest and attraction, but they do not speak to each until they see each other again.
Sofia and the mystery woman (who’s about 10 to 15 years older than Sofia) eventually meet at an outdoor restaurant where they both happen to be dining at nearby tables during the day. The mystery woman’s name is Ingrid (played by Vicky Krieps), who has a German accent and a murky personal background. Sofia and Ingrid’s first conversation is utterly vapid and an example about how this “romance” has no real depth.
Ingrid asks Sofia: “Do you smoke?” Sofia says, “Yes.” Ingrid asks if Sofia has any cigarettes. Sofia again replies, “Yes.” Ingrid tells Sofia, “Let’s go.” And so, they leave the restaurant to lounge on the beach and smoke. While looking up at the sky, Ingrid says to Sofia: “Look at all this blue. It’s blue!”
Eventually, Sofia and Ingrid become lovers. “Hot Milk” tries to convince viewers that Ingrid and Sofia have a passionate relationship, just because they declare their love for each other. But what the movie shows about their relationship is tedious and often very shallow. There simply isn’t believable chemistry between Ingrid and Sofia. Ingrid seems like she’s bored and using Sofia as a plaything. Sofia seems like she’s too needy and is using Ingrid as a distraction from Sofia’s responsibility of being Rose’s caregiver.
If Ingrid has a job or a career, she doesn’t tell Sofia what it is, nor does Sofia ask. If Ingrid has ever been married or has children, Ingrid doesn’t tell Sofia, and Sofia never asks about it either. All that’s shown about Ingrid’s lifestyle in the movie is that Ingrid is a bachelorette who’s living a life of leisure in Spain. Ingrid also calls Sofia by the nickname Sophie, as if Ingrid wants to set her own rules of how to give a nickname to Sofia.
Ingrid knows that Sofia is a grad student in anthropology, but Ingrid doesn’t seem very interested in whatever interests Sofia. Ingrid also doesn’t tell Sofia what her own hopes and dreams are. The only time that Ingrid opens up emotionally to Sofia is when she tells Sofia a secret from Ingrid’s past. Ingrid begins to reveal this secret when Ingrid blurts out, “I killed somebody,” and Ingrid says it happened a long time ago.
Sofia seems in shock and doesn’t ask for details when she hears Ingrid make this statement. But later, Ingrid tells the details when Sofia asks. When these details are revealed, it shows viewers that Ingrid is prone to exaggeration/dishonesty. However, when Ingrid tells the truth about what happened in a traumatic incident from her past, it’s obvious that Ingrid feels a lot of guilt and is haunted by it. Sofia later finds out that Rose is haunted by her own secret from the past.
Sofia seems to want a monogamous/exclusive relationship with Ingrid, but Ingrid (who is the more assertive partner) never tells Sofia that that their relationship is monogamous/exclusive. In fact, Ingrid and Sofia don’t talk at all about what type of relationship they want to have with each other—another reason why the movie fails to convince that Ingrid and Sofia have a healthy and fulfilling romance. The undefined nature of their relationship is why Sofia gets angry and storms off every time Sofia sees Ingrid get affectionate with Ingrid’s male lovers who stop by to visit.
One of these male lovers is Matty (played by Yann Gael), an aspiring musician who works as a private-transportation driver. Ingrid hires Matty to temporarily give driving services to Sofia and Rose. Another of Ingrid’s lovers is Leonardo (played by Paris Thomopoulous), who works as Ingrid’s horse-riding instructor. Matty and Leonardo have fleeting moments in the movie, which only makes them catalysts to Sofia feeling possessive of Ingrid.
Ingrid doesn’t explain what level of commitment that she has to Matty or Leonardo, nor does Sofia ask. Sofia’s jealous reaction shows her emotional immaturity and insecurity. A mature and secure person would ask Ingrid to be honest about Ingrid’s relationship boundaries and expectations in this polyamorous situation—instead of having a tantrum and running away, which Sofia does more than once after seeing public displays of affection between Ingrid and Ingrid’s male lovers.
“Hot Milk” has a repeat loop of one of these three scenarios shown throughout the movie: (1) Sofia being annoyed by Rose; (2) Sofia and Ingrid having sexual trysts and mostly uninteresting conversations; and (3) Sofia hanging out at a beach, where she pouts, pouts some more, and does even more pouting. Sofia suddenly takes a brief trip to Greece to see her estranged father Christos, who has a much-younger wife named Alexandra (played by Korina Gougouli) and a toddler daughter named Evangeline (played by Elisavet Liosi and Sofia Papadopoulou), but that scene ultimately doesn’t have much impact in the story.
There are also indications that Sofia is mentally unraveling. For example, there’s a scene when she angrily threatens a neighbor with a knife and orders him to let his barking dog loose from the dog’s chain because Sofia can no longer handle the sound of the dog barking. The acting performances in “Hot Milk” aren’t terrible, but they’re not impressive either. What really sinks “Hot Milk” is the atrocious ending that will leave most viewers confused and feeling like they wasted their time watching a meaningless film.
Independent Film Company released “Hot Milk” in select U.S. cinemas on June 27, 2025.