11/07/2022 - Things get messy in Tomasz Wiński’s Crystal Globe Competition entry, about a couple who want more and somehow end up with less

Freshly awarded the FIPRESCI Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (see the news), Tomasz Wiński’s Borders of Love [+see also:
trailer
interview: Tomasz Wiński
film profile] is an interesting successor to the wave of massively popular, trashy erotica that has been teasing controversy while ultimately sticking to laughably traditional values. Yet this is not another Fifty Shades or – thank the Lord – 365 Days [+see also:
trailer
film profile], as this time, life in all its ugliness actually finds its way into sexual adventures, complicating everything and resulting in heartbreak or personal revelation, or both.

The story, co-written by actress Hana Vagnerová, begins so sweetly that it hurts. Petr and Hana (Matyáš Řezníček and Vagnerová) are young, still in love and still in lust – or at least it seems that way, although their insistence on recording each other already feels a bit off. Some boredom already starts creeping in, and while they don’t want to split, they start to explore. It starts innocently enough, in a bar, with a small bet that ends up with them inviting a stranger into their lives for one night. It’s interesting – and actually rather believable – that nobody wants to back out of the deal, even though it’s hard to tell if they actually want it or not.

After the initial excitement wears off, it becomes clear that they have a very different take on how they should proceed. He gets a bit tired, a bit jealous, while she develops strong feelings for someone. “We call it ‘heroin’,” says a more experienced friend about her infatuation, explaining the logistics of an open relationship to Petr, promising that, one day, “the uncomfortable feelings go, and you are only left with enjoyment”.

Apparently not every time, though – what works for one person doesn’t have to work for another couple. But they still keep on going, even though their own sex life begins to suffer. The intimacy, shown at the very beginning, with the camera coming so close you can count every freckle, is gone. And what was supposed to take them to the next level is slowly bringing them down.

There is something predictable, in a melancholic way, to how this story plays out – it seems that in just about every tale about couples exploring sexual boundaries, someone gets hurt or gets blamed, and Kubrick knew that only too well. What makes it fresher is Wiński’s decision to show the backstage of a dream, so to speak: all the awkward situations, all the meetings that need to be held before a threesome takes place.

It’s all very funny, in the most uncomfortable way. There is no denying that any ideas about such liberated encounters suddenly feel much less appealing when sex is interrupted by a crying baby and you need to engage in small talk with someone’s husband, who was just there to watch. “She will be back in a minute,” he assures the other party politely. Through such scenes, Borders of Love shows just how messy, sad and unpleasant it can be to put one’s fantasies into practice. Or, depending on your pain threshold, how hilarious.

Borders of Love was produced by Czech outfits Endorfilm and One Way Ticket Films, and was co-produced by PINK (Czech Republic), Czech Television and Poland’s Lava Films. Its international sales are overseen by Loco Films.