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The actors are terrific, each playing a character churning with unresolved feelings. As a nasty passive-aggressive, Na vividly brings sparky Jiumei to life, increasingly unlikable as she lays her own problems on the people closest to her. Nan is more subdued as the pregnant Xiaoyu, who turns to Fiquet's quietly understanding foreigner for a steady hand after each of her mother's deeply cutting insults. Intriguingly, Wu remains largely off-screen, but Tao's gentle presence fills every scene.

Most scenes take place indoors, in featureless rooms that feel oppressive, so it's no wonder the conversations are hushed. One telling meeting in a cafe, between Xiaoyu and her father's secret boyfriend (Chen), reveals a range of truths about how gay people must hide in plain sight in China. And as the story continues, shifting around in time, Zhiang begins to stir in fiendishly inventive stage sequences and some magical realism, offering glimpses into both the characters' mental states and larger societal issues.

some themes

28.Mar.20 flare

Lutskyi brings a likably dorky charm to Serhiy, almost making his ludicrous ignorance believable. That Diana dresses him in S&M gear is absurd, played as pure farce, but Lutskyi makes Serhiy's gullibility endearing. Still, it's impossible to understand why he's hung-up on Lesia and oblivious about Diana. Mazur adds some wit to her textbook manipulative backstabber, while Nikolaeva has spark as the thankless romantic lead. Meanwhile, popular TV comic Pritula effortlessly steals every scene he can.

There's a more interesting comedy lurking in this premise, but the army of writers are interested only in simplistic storytelling that eliminates all complexity from sexuality. Basically, whenever the movie does try to get sexy, director Ryashina seems to become painfully embarrassed. So while a scene with a melon clearly aims to be seductive and rude, it has no impact at all until someone finally suggests the blindingly obvious.

themes, language, sexuality

28.Mar.20

Binoche stirs an inner sadness into this bookish, middle-aged woman, but also offers glimpses of her youthful soul. As Claire recounts her tale to Catherine, it's impossible to tell what she might be making up. And there are hints that she lost her identity in her marriage as well. Because everything is seen through her eyes, she's the focal point of the entire film. So other characters are less defined, simply because that's as far as she has any interest in them. But Garcia and Berling both add some telling detail, and Civil and Gouix are excellent.

As Catherine unpicks Claire's story, there are a cascade of twists, some of them tiny, others more momentous. They reveal details of her story and allow the viewer to delve into her imagination, cleverly catching us off guard with narrative surprises. While stirring in these smartly rug-pulling touches, Nebbou and Binoche cleverly coerce the audience into falling in love with this fraudulent woman, which makes the film a riveting blend of suspense, warmth, heartbreak and hope.

themes, language, sexuality

3.Apr.20