Adrien Brody and Tilda Swinton both confront themes of life and death in their movies this year. In “The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet’s ambitious “great man” tale, Brody’s László Tóth, an architect and an immigrant to the U.S. from Hungary in the years after the Holocaust, seeks to make a structure that will express his worldview and define his legacy. And in “The Room Next Door,” Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, Swinton’s Martha Hunt, a terminally ill former war correspondent, contemplates suicide. The two have also worked together several times in Wes Anderson films.

Tilda Swinton: You know that in my house you are described as my tiny child because you actually are my tiny child in “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” I’m your mother — your ancient mother.

Adrien Brody: You did bring me to life.

Swinton: And what a child you’ve become.