By Robert St. Martin
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/18/23 – Much anticipated in the lineup for Outfest Los Angeles is the new film from American Indie darling Ira Sachs, with his first film Passages made in France about a narcissistic openly gay movie director who sabotages his same-sex marriage by falling for a woman. Passages is a brutally honest portrait of a love triangle between an impetuous Franz Rogowski, Adèle Exarchopoulous as an ordinary grade schoolteacher, and Ben Whishaw as a cerebral print designer. Given the dynamics of this story, the three manage to tear each other to shreds. This stellar cast sees director Ira Sachs back in his element after the dismal critical reception of his Frankie (2019) which starred Isabelle Huppert. Ira Sachs is well-known to Outfest audiences for his award-winning Keep the Lights On (2012) and Love is Strange (2014).
In Ira Sachs’s Passages, Tomas (Franz Rogowski), a self-centered German filmmaker somewhat like Rainer Werner Fassbinder without much of a filter, is talking heatedly about “responsibility” with the skeptical parents of Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a schoolteacher with whom he’s happened into an unexpected love affair. His exasperated words about how he should be trusted don’t inspire much confidence in anyone present. Agathe’s parents capture duly note Tomas’ spur-of-the-moment approach to decision-making. He follows his impulses and pays little attention to the feelings of others. In this dramatic film, we witness the growing strain of all of Tomas’ relationships – most of all, that between Tomas and his husband, print designer Martin (Ben Whishaw).
The story evolves out of a wrap party in Paris where Tomas first falls for Agathe, who has just dumped her French boyfriend. Tomas is suddenly energized by this woman and his passion seems to stem from the novelty of their connection. He tries to convince himself that his interest is more than mere lust and really love. But he is used to being fairly independent within the married relationship he has with Martin and their lifestyle of work and shared creature comforts including a house together in the French countryside. Tomas proves clever at picking partners who are more passive in their acceptance of his obnoxious behavior. He is not used to being tied down to commitments so when he finds out that Adele is pregnant, he cannot handle that knowledge well at all. He tries to wander back to Martin, who feeling rejected has found a love interest of his own with a handsome writer.
Sachs and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias gracefully build on themes found in his earlier films about couple portraits – namely Love Is Strange (2014) and (though Tomas’s flame is brightly burning) Keep the Lights On (2012). Exarchopoulos (known for her performance in Blue is the Warmest Color) is low-key as Agathe, who recedes somewhat in the film’s scheme after the initial passion of their affair. Many of us know Ben Whishaw from his roles in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster (2015) and Sarah Polley’s Women Talking (2022).
Dominating the film is the role of Tomas by Franz Rogowski, the star of Christian Petzold’s Transit (2019) and more recently in Sebastian Meise’s award-winning film Great Freedom (2021). Rogowski is a very physical actor, and his portrayal of Tomas is that of a man already in need of attention and this is played out most graphically in one of the film’s sex scenes. Martin as played by Ben Whishaw is a thinker who seems more taken with his tendency to think rather than feel. The almost child-like neediness of Tomas will wear down both Agathe and Martin, who ultimately tell him “Enough.”
Sachs excels at investigating thorny, uncomfortable situations, and he treats all three characters fairly here, which allows audiences to decide which one they identify with. The movie is not a serious portrait of bisexuality. Actually, its depiction of a difficult and self-absorbed artist chimes with recent criticisms of misbehavior in the film industry, where how power and celebrity bring a kind of entitlement. “This always happens when you finish a film. You just forget,” Martin tells Tomas.
“Don’t be melodramatic,” Tomas chides Martin when the latter dares to call him on one of his lies. For all the raw emotional realism the director brings to his work, Sachs tends to stage his scenes much like his European art-house idols: Eric Rohmer, Maurice Pialat and, perhaps most relevant here, Jean Eustache. At times, Passages plays like a queer riff on Eustache’s landmark The Mother and the Whore (1973), which starred Pierre Léaud, Bernadette Lafont and Françoise Lebrun. The ending of Ira Sachs’ Passages is an interesting surprise and I leave you to discover how the threesome end up.
Passages screens as part of Outfest at the Directors Guild of America on Thursday, July 20, at 7:15 PM. There are still tickets available. The film is slated for theatres in Los Angeles beginning August 4. For information and tickets, go to: www.outfest.org.