Movie Review: Passages takes the risk of a more modern transformation
The romantic drama genre has been present in major Hollywood blockbusters. Whether they are based on a novel or are original stories, many of them have been awarded and multi-awarded and are liked by locals and strangers.
The month of February represents a consumerism that has been established for decades, dinners, romantic details celebrating anniversaries, or simply the day of love and friendship, something that is the pillar of great moments, some with happy endings and others wishing to be, the reality Romanticism has not gone out of fashion.
But what about these romances in the 21st century? How multifaceted love can be has been reflected in more real, rawer, more modern alternative stories that move away from princes charming and princesses looking for love for life, sexual and gender diversity have also featured in plots. very intense and interesting among which we can name Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), Philadelphia (1993), Happy Together (1997), Boys Don’t Cry (1999), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Weekend (2011), Tangerine (2015), Call Me By Your Name (2018), Palmer (2021) and Great Freedom (2021) are a clear example of simple works that take a very different turn from the traditional and trite.
In 2023, director Ira Sachs presents Passages, a French dramatic/romantic film that addresses the issue of polyamorous relationships and their consequences in a world where diversity has earned a respectable place in a society that still refuses change.
What is the film about?
During his last day of filming in Paris, film director Tomas (Franz Rogowski) has a fleeting romance with Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a girl he meets in a nightclub on a night of drinking when Tomas proudly tells her husband. Martin (Ben Whishaw) develops a passionate relationship between the three marked by passion, jealousy, and narcissism with consequences for each of them that will be difficult and painful to face.
To see a film like this we must consider that this and more do happen in real life, the context is particular about its plot and what happens in it, we are in an era in which modernity has reached all ages, areas and the romantic/sexual could not be the exception, we well know that these types of relationships have always been hidden from a society that must be politically correct and here we ask the question: who said that relationships must be politically correct?
Before, it was a social imposition that marriage recognized by law and the church was between men and women, with lesbian and homosexual relationships being condemned and persecuted by them as something aberrant that transgresses the freedom of expression of those involved, leading to them being condemned and even murdered, in the 21st century, although things have changed a little, there are still too many things in which we must be more aware based on respect for the rights of others and of each individual as well as their sexual preferences and human rights.
Hate and discrimination crimes are the graphic and plausible representation that as a society we still have a lot to learn, but this is not a film of denunciation or education, it is a work that shows that behind 4 walls and outside of them any relationship between adults is valid as long as it is consensual and in which those involved agree without violating their rights.
We also know from a very early age that the ideological and cultural formation that each country has, as well as education, have a lot to do with the freedom that each individual has to express themselves personally, family, socially, at work, etc. Little do we understand that the human rights that each of us has are supported and based on the laws of each country, no one is more or less, but corruption and abuse of power is what is believed to give another individual the right to violate rights. of the others are men or women of any age.
Ira Sachs is one of the creators of cinematographic dramas who takes the most risks bringing different stories to the big screen, Passages takes a very specific place and moment in independent cinema that is not so commercial that it has its audience, in this case, It is a love triangle in which 2 homosexual men relate romantically and sexually with a woman, creating a relationship that falls into the turbulent, emphatically sexy and presumptuously desperate.
However, the contrast between the main plot and the subplots that develop at the same time makes it extremely interesting and intense. Set in contemporary Paris, there is no outside world with which the characters can relate. That is, the environment in which they live is powerful enough to create an atmosphere in which they get involved and involve us as viewers in a plot that becomes more complex with every moment.
This begins on a film set where we see the director Tomas making a period film called Passages, he is an irritable author and very demanding with the work of others, he manages and questions his cast and his extras which means that they do not Does he have an assistant director to whom he can delegate that type of work or is the production simply like that and to a certain extent abuses his power over others, during the closing party of the filming Tomas is accompanied by his husband Martin where we can see that As a couple they are fun and they get along very well, jokes, alcohol, laughter about whether they can dance or not and with whom Tomas walks around the dance floor with Agathe, a woman who has been keeping an eye on the production on set, they feel attracted. and interested in each other, Agathe has just ended her relationship with her boyfriend and is very open to whatever may arise, while Tomas is married but is also very open to the possibility of living new experiences.
From this point on, the film tells us that it is not so necessary to give too many explanations about what we are going to see, they have already presented a situation and the characters getting involved with it, there is never an explicit mention of the extent to which the relationship between Martin and Tomas is open but after this film director spends the night with Agathe he tends to exuberantly share with her husband that he had sex with this woman and wants to fill him in on everything.
It is to be expected that Martin does not respond with the same enthusiasm and feels jealous of her and her relationship, which he believed was monogamous to a certain extent, while Tomás nods and insists that it has been exciting, something different but that as viewers we know that it falls into a routine. of self-deception where Martin knows that he does that every time he finishes a shoot, apart from this, Tomás’ objective is to edit the film so that it arrives on time for the Venice Film Festival, which further develops his character and we understand more about his motivations derived from his creative work stress to justify his behavior to others, changing this character’s sexual orientation is a different and unusual approach to facing his fears and insecurities with his partner, we meet him as a fascinatingly talented guy, manipulative, creative but undesirable for others except for Agathe and Martin who feel so attracted not only physically to him but also for his confident and challenging attitude, they see him as the ideal man who can face everything and every one by defending his way of thinking, his way of being and who he loves.
Passages develops a convincing and current story without falling into excesses, it presents what it should propose without taking more time than necessary, the development of the characters is neither exact nor planned, and neither Agathe nor Martin are weak but at different points in the narrative they give in to What Tomás wants, they are neither victims nor perpetrators, the three of them agree to have a relationship this stormy without taking into account the consequences that this will have for each one, as is expected and by involving feelings, they are the same ones they play with without placing limitations on their actions.
After Tomas confesses to his husband and intends to maintain a relationship with Agathe Martin, he begins an affair with Amad (Erwan Kepoa Falé), a young and brilliant writer/editor who gets involved and understands what is happening, telling Martin that he is weak. and that he still cannot fully see the consequences of what he does and allows that if he continues like this none of them will survive that relationship. The ending is not hopeful but it makes it clear to us that characters and people in real life like Tomás who Despite the emotional havoc he has caused himself and other people, has not understood or learned anything and will continue doing what he does as long as others and his own life allow it.
The script written by Mauricio Zacharias and Sachs himself takes too many liberties without falling into tedium or boredom, each dialogue is strategically planned so that the entire plot makes sense and we can see a more agile narrative development that keeps us interested. Every moment of what is happening, there are no surprising twists, by the end we already know how things will end, something that does not disappoint us but leaves us thinking and wondering what we are doing right and wrong in our relationship. Is the person we are with enough to make us want to spend time with them or do we need something to turn the relationship around?
The story is concrete and well-defined where it wants to take us, it is effusive and demanding in itself, and with the transitions, large and small, in the motivations and justifications, in the decisions that are made, it has a dramatic sentimentality, the sexual scenes They are not explicit but with a dose of eroticism typical of a film more for adults, it is less interactive and more observational in the intelligence of its execution and directly analyzes the moments of transition in each person’s life.
It is profound in the conflict of knowing whether or not they are prepared to support themselves on a more sentimental basis, at times it becomes moving and intimate in its independent approaches with the characters, in the life baggage that each one has and in The experience in their relationships raises why they do not work as a couple but do work in a polyamorous threesome or quartet in which they do not yet know how to define the rules and limits, something that is defined within the relationship itself and by the individuals involved. without taking into account an imperative culture, education, and society.
However, Sachs as a director does not treat this as if it were a speech of moral reflection or emotional implosions, he does not intend to convey a message in which the love between two people is the most important thing, or that love triumphs over all things. , it is rather a look at what is happening in today’s society and in the relationships that we look for in applications or our sites for that matter, whether fleeting or long-term or the importance of starting a family, abortion, as The film is not so cynical in its approach and calls a spade a spade and is explicitly aimed at an adult audience without making a complaint or attacking the way of being and thinking of those who are part of a different community.
Its director as well as the scriptwriters balance very well what is desire with desperation in a marriage that has already given everything and cannot give more, narrated in 2 parts where the first half emotionally establishes the characters while The second half develops the causes and presents its ending, both simple and complex.
The cast is made up of Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Erwan Kepoa Falé as Amad, William Nadylam, Caroline Chaniolleau, and Olivier Rabourdin do a great job, each one perfectly knows how to develop their character and give it more credibility and realism.
In conclusion, Passages is an independent and risky film that boldly transforms a topic that can be controversial into something more real and current about human complexity and relationships, an almost impeccable work that leaves us thinking about something beyond a simple message.
Passages are now available on the Mubi and Apple TV platforms.
