Every scene of the film comprises a dialogue between a man and a woman. The dialogues are fragmentary, in other words, the dialogue in one scene does not tie in with that of the next. In addition there is no development in the relationship between the actor and the actress towards a happy or unhappy ending. The dialogues are not only of substantial interest; it is above all material for the actors. The film balances on the boundary between portraying an intimate relationship between a woman and a man and the intimacy in the acting between the actor and actress. When an actor or actress hardly has any words in a scene, he or she portrays loneliness; when he/she has a monologue, then the attention is focused on speaking the text, on (the reflection about) being an actor. (Wim Schlebaum
Acting
Luppes and Pittoors weaponize silence like it's dialogue.
Direction
Van de Staak strips cinema to its barest bones.
Editing
Jagged scene jumps force you to fill the gaps yourself.
Director
Frans van de Staak
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of 1990s Dutch structuralist cinema that rejected narrative cohesion for pure cinematic inquiry.
Pittoors and Luppes were married in real life, adding parasocial voltage to every staged intimacy.
NL
