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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for vintage French theater-style acting where nobody ever just talks normally. If you get annoyed by characters who make their problems everyone else's business before breakfast, you are going to want to turn this off in ten minutes. But for the curious? It is a weird, frantic little time capsule. 🍿
The whole thing feels like a play that got lost on its way to a stage. People are constantly bursting into rooms like they are being chased by bees. I lost count of how many times I thought, "Wait, why is she standing there?" but then someone else would yell something and I’d just forget about it.
The central premise is basically a game of telephone gone wrong. Sophie has a problem, and the rest of the cast treats it like a house fire that needs to be put out with gasoline. It’s stressful in a way that feels unintentional. Honestly, I think the movie is louder than it needs to be.
Sometimes the camera just hangs on someone’s face while they process a line of dialogue, and it feels like the director went to grab a coffee and forgot to yell cut. It’s weirdly charming. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Careless Age, though with way more hand-waving.
There is this one moment where Lyanne Doridge is trying to explain something, and you can see a fly buzzing around her head for a solid thirty seconds. Nobody swatted it. It was the most honest part of the whole film. 🪰
It’s definitely not as polished as something like T'amerò sempre. It feels rougher, like someone filmed it in their living room after a long lunch. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s just… a choice.
Do I regret watching it? Not really. But I probably wouldn't watch it twice. It’s the kind of movie you finish, look at the blank screen, and think, "Well, that happened." And then you go make a sandwich. Sometimes that is exactly what you need.
