Passages is not at all what I expected from the little bit of attention I paid to the trailer and poster. I have walked into so many films this year with a false confidence in my expectations. Passages adds itself to that list along with the growing list of European dramas which further the stereotypes that we’re all romantically indecisive and intensely self absorbed.
The film presents a sexually confusing love triangle that would also make me dart my head left to right like a tennis match.
Tomas is a very involved and artistically passionate film director, married to Martin, a British sign maker (?). After Tomas’ latest film wraps, he celebrates in a club where he meets Agathe, at which point he Dua Lipa style dances the night away with her. They take the dancing back to her apartment and they sleep together.
The next day, Tomas excitedly cycles back home to Martin to tell him about his experience that he had.
We’re introduced to their dynamic here as we assume there is an openness and honesty in their relationship. Martin doesn’t lash out and shout when Tomas tells him that he has slept with someone else, in fact he says that he can of course tell him all about it. Although once Martin notices Tomas’ excitement, he changes his mind on it, not wanting to hear about it anymore.
Tomas and Agathe grow closer as Tomas and Martin grow apart, leading to Tomas to move out to live with Agathe.
From there, the story takes a winding path of bisexual and narcissistic confusion, bouncing between lovers as both relationships figure out where they stand.
The film is quite comparable to The Worst Person In The World or Past Lives with its themes of comfort in one relationship and excitement in the other. The thing about those other two movies is that the main character has a lot more pause and forethought about feelings that can come from decisions they make. Tomas is a little bit less like that, bulldozing through decisions without much pause for reflection on how anyone else around him might feel. These decisions are not necessarily done in a manipulative manner, to play one partner off the other. He is just a character who gets lost in his feelings and doesn’t realise his own impact (for the most part).
There is valid sympathy for Tomas in this situation, if you take the hurt he is doing out of the equation. He is a confused and passionate person, just looking for the right feeling. He chases the right thing for him to do for the entire film, not really understanding the damage he is doing to both Martin and Agathe along the way.
I obviously feel for both Martin and Agathe who love Tomas, but also can’t seem to let him go and figure himself out, letting themselves fall back into the routine with him anytime he comes back. It takes a lot for someone in a situation like that to see what the relationship is actually doing to them, to take a step back and realise its not healthy.
Quick pit stop to talk about the screening I was in. Not a usual side track but I felt like I was on such a different journey to the other people watching the film. I’m not sure if they came in expecting a comedy so just laughed at random intervals but there was quite a lot of high decibel laughing at jokes that were not there. I was feeling very different to these select people at the time, disappointment in Tomas or sadness for the others. There were a few lines that made me smile but those were interlaced within sad feelings of sadness. I don’t understand these laughers and never will.
Okay, back with the pit stop done, we’re speeding into costumes, because I want the costume designer of this film to give me all the costumes and forever be my personal stylist, forever. There was nothing outlandish about the costumes, just very well dressed people in interesting clothing that I was jealous of almost every single character's outfit, everytime they walked into a scene.
More jealousy from me, I was also upset at how nice all of the apartments they lived in were. The camera could almost be lazy in these environments, they were so nice that you could have dropped it anywhere in the room and I would have given it a personal cinematography award.
Speaking of cinematography, it was really interesting in this one. Showcasing the action in quite a “fly on the wall” type of way, leaving you out of the conversation, or keeping you just a distance away to feel the awkwardness. Some notable examples of it is a conversation between Tomas and Martin, where Tomas moves in front of Martin’s face so we only see the back of Tomas’ head.
This shot felt like a status of their relationship, as Tomas took centre stage, leaving Martin in the background, not to be seen.
Another example is a shot of Agathe and Tomas going into the bedroom on the night they meet, the camera stays for a moment while she slides the door closed, where the mirror on the door reflects the rest of the room. I don’t think this shot meant much but it looked fun.
The music also brings something notable, by not having any non diegetic songs until the end of the story, as we fade into the credits. The music other than that is played from record players in the apartment, with older style music, adding to the timeless nature of the story. One where we have heavy grain, mostly older cars and music, a reliance on 90s fashion but modern day technology.
Passages is yet another impressive entry from the festival circuits, making me realise more and more how emotionally draining these film festivals are. You just get hit with painful emotions over and over, in different locations and mostly uncomfortable seats. To finish off a review in my usual style, I am excited to see more from this emotionally intelligent and mature director. Their approach to these kinds of stories make me interested in what other kinds of representations they could portray on screen.
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