“The original is always more valuable.”
synopsis
An English writer meets a French gallery owner in Tuscany to discuss his book on art and authenticity. Over the course of a day, their dynamic subtly shifts — from strangers, to flirtation, to something that may be a long-married couple unraveling. Or maybe not. The film never tells you which version is real.
pairs well with ...
mini-review
This is relationship mayhem in disguise. It starts as intellectual flirtation and slowly morphs into marital warfare — without ever officially declaring the transformation.
Binoche is magnetic. The film plays with identity, performance, and whether love itself is just a well-rehearsed copy of something once authentic. It’s slippery, ambiguous, and completely deliberate.
You don’t watch this for plot. You watch it to feel destabilized.
A quiet afternoon
Someone who likes arguing about art
Watching twice
Absurdist's Corner
They might be strangers. They might be married. They might be both. Enjoy.
fun facts
Juliette Binoche won Best Actress at Cannes for this role.
This was Kiarostami’s first feature shot outside Iran.
The ambiguity about whether the couple is married was intentional and never clarified.