You know me, I like to keep in touch with the ongoing zeitgeist as far as cinema is concerned, and apparently one of the trends we can all look forward to, or not, is the return of abundant nudity and extravagant sex scenes. (What a shame that Sir Michael Caine has apparently retired.) Apparently the thinking is that we are all past MeToo and the unique moment and the enforced distancing required by the pandemic and it is, apparently, time for all those newly-trained intimacy co-ordinators to start earning their corn. As soon as the writers' strike and the actors' strike get resolved, anyway. (Sometimes it's hard to shake the impression that life isn't as straightforward as it used to be.)

Of course, when it comes to this sort of thing you have to bear in mind that too much cheerful nudity and amatory shenanigans will have the primary result of making your film look like Fifty Shades of Grey, 365 Days, or some other dodgy softcore nonsense which no respectable film-going citizen will ever confess to watching (unless they have a blog). Respectable film nudity tends to either be unattractive or ultimately in a weird or miserable context.

Which brings us, suspiciously neatly, to Ira Sachs' Passages, showing at the time of writing in respectable UK cinemas, but apparently struggling in the US as it's been slapped with an NC-17 rating. This is the story of Tomas (Franz Rogowski), a German film director resident in Paris; it is quickly made clear he is a temperamental and demanding individual. His husband, an Englishman named Martin (Ben Whishaw), is the stolid and down-to-earth one, accepting some of Tomas' erratic behaviour and occasional dalliances without too much complaining.

This time, however, Tomas' regular post-principal-photography fling is with a woman, Agathe (Adele Exarchopoulos, whom we most recently encountered in a gory encounter with the Thinking Helmet in Quentin Dupieux's Smoking Causes Coughing). Some sort of chemistry is kindled between Tomas and Agathe, for it soon becomes clear he is splitting up with Martin and moving in with her – but, at the same time, he seems oddly reluctant to hand back the keys to their apartment or agree to sell another property they share. Eventually Agathe announces she is pregnant with Tomas' child, and Tomas – aware of Martin's desire to have children – sees a possible chance to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Of course, he's not being realistic; the film makes it quite clear he's the kind of person who goes through life like a kind of emotional wrecking ball, leaving distraught people and smashed relationships in his wake. The question is whether he is someone who is simply pathetic and perhaps a bit pitiable, or simply one of the worst people to appear in a work of fiction in quite a while. It's to Rogowski's great credit that he manages to keep Tomas as a recognisable human being, and often somewhat sympathetic, despite all of this.

Nevertheless, the switched-on viewer will quickly get the sense of where this film is headed – which is not to anywhere jolly. This is one of those unsparing look-at-life kind of films, strong on understated naturalism – there's no incidental music, obvious cinematography or flashy directing going on. The story may be a bit extreme by some standards, but it still somehow manages to have the ring of sincerity about it.

It's a recognisable cousin to a certain kind of social-realist drama which our French cousins often do very well indeed – the story isn't terribly complex, but the characters ring true and the unfolding of the plot is logical and coherent. The thing which makes it distinctive, I suspect, is the presence of a number of sex scenes which go on for some time – one in particular, between Rogowski and Whishaw, did strike me as being inordinately protracted. I found myself glancing around and looking at my watch and wondering how actors cope with having to do this sort of thing. I don't think this was simply because the action was homme-sur-homme; for quite a long time I have thought that conjugal activity is a bit like picking your nose – often very satisfying and enjoyable, but somewhat disgusting when considered as a spectator activity. I'm not sure the various scenes of people grunting at each other in different accents and thrusting and waving their legs in the air really do much to assist in the telling of the story, but it may be that director Sachs is trying to take a stand about equal representation on screen – in which case I'm not sure he isn't in error, for (as noted) mainstream films tend not to indulge in graphic hetero sex scenes nowadays. All he seems likely to do is drive Passages further into the ghetto.

This is a shame as I can imagine a more conservatively edited version of the film which hits all the same beats without getting itself effectively banned from many outlets. There is a lot here to admire and enjoy, particularly in the trio of central performances – Rogowski is especially good at playing these kinds of slightly 'off' individuals, having an intensity which can be a bit rattling, as well as a faint speech impediment. He's really the moving spirit of the film, but there's a generosity in his scenes with Whishaw that lets the British actor make an impression despite playing someone much more reserved and less demonstrative. Adele Exarchopoulos continues to look like one of the best French actresses of her generation, as well as one of the most game (cf. her films with Dupieux).

Passages is certainly a film which falls into the 'serious drama' category, but it's a well-made and satisfying one, to the extent that a relatively bleak film can be satisfying. Protracted games of where's-my-leg aside, the only potential brick I can sling at it is that the relatively brief running time almost feels it leaving a bit rushed in places, with important decisions and plot developments taking place off-screen. It feels like it could use a bit more time to breathe and reflect. Apart from that this is a solid, if somewhat glum movie for the art-house crowd – you know how fairly bad films can sometimes be rather entertaining, while clearly good ones somehow aren't, particularly? Well, this is one of those.

Awix

11.09.23 Front Page

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