Beautifully shot, but tediously slow. Even with all the references to French New Wave filmmaking from a couple of decades before, the story didn't hold my interest, and the characters were hard to care for. There was not enough effort put into developing them beyond damaged, emotionally fragile people. Carax instead labored over other scenes, like the three full minutes spent with the young man playing pinball near the end, at a point where I was already hoping the remaining run time would pass quickly.
The cinematography is undeniable, however, and there is a certain lonely mood captured here that may resonate, if you can put up with a story that moves in fits and starts. Can love, like a phoenix, rise out of the ashes of former relationships for these two people, we wonder when they talk at length in the kitchen while a party carries on outside, maybe the film's most interesting scene. It had its moments, but isn't one I'd recommend.
The cinematography is undeniable, however, and there is a certain lonely mood captured here that may resonate, if you can put up with a story that moves in fits and starts. Can love, like a phoenix, rise out of the ashes of former relationships for these two people, we wonder when they talk at length in the kitchen while a party carries on outside, maybe the film's most interesting scene. It had its moments, but isn't one I'd recommend.