A Perfect Couple - Reaction

[French with Japanese director]

Filled with uncomfortable silences and inane/arbitrary arguments, this slow moving movie explores the end of a marriage. While it feels true, it's not a movie that is pleasant to watch. Little conversation, extremely long takes (dozens of minutes), and practically no camera movement all contribute to the lack of forward momentum. Also, I thought they were doing something meaningful by having only the women be in the center of the frame, but that ceased after the first half an hour; I guess I was wrong. (Note: the director of photography was there and very eloquent in translation, e.g., in one hand-held up-close camera scene, she said she wanted "the camera to get onto/into the character like an animal.")

Di Yin, who saw the movie separately, says she agrees. "A perfect couple is more a movie about waiting - for your partner to come home, for the reply to come for your questions, for the minutes of a trip to pass by, as much as it is about the progression of a relationship. The characters hesitate, watch, and long for each other - this very stagnation both speaks true to the nature of their relationship, and frustrates the audience."