The course of true lust never did run smooth. That’s certainly the case in Tomasz Winski’s debut feature film, Borders of Love, which celebrates its world premiere in the Crystal Globe Competition at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Broaching the somewhat taboo topic of open relationships, Winski’s film follows a couple attempting to rejuvenate their sex life with experimentation, but ultimately becomes a deeper and more nuanced reflection on the nature of being empathetic and honest with your partner. The raunchy subject may turn heads, but its in the exploration of its two characters – and the performances of leads Hana Vagnerová and Matyáš Reznícek – that the film really shines.
Hana (Vagnerová) and Petr (Reznícek) seem to have a happy life – they’re a long-term couple who also founded a company together and appear to still be energised and turned on by one another. They often film each other on their phones, interviewing the other about certain moments, their feelings, their thoughts about their relationship. On the surface they’re incredibly forthcoming, with no topic obviously off the table. When they find out about the infidelity of a mutual friend, they get on to the topic of fantasies about other people and – via some friends who practice polyamory – they end up taking tentative steps into sleeping with other people, ground rules and mutual acceptance meaning nothing could possibly go wrong.
The film opens from the perspective on one of the videos being recorded on a camera, and these brief interludes recur throughout the early stages of the narrative. They have an incredibly intimate quality, and one of utter nakedness – both literal and metaphorical – that seems convey the achievement of some romantic ideal. Perhaps this is why Hana seems to somewhat lose her moorings when their hard drive inexplicably dies and they loose five years’ worth of video memories. It is no coincidence that after this news she observes Petr talking to an attractive young woman at work and seems to feel an immediate pang of jealousy, leading directly to their discussions about swinging. Later on, it’s notable that when Hana watches back one such video, its one where she describes her fantasy of having sex with someone else.
Beyond these close-up iPhone images, the cinematography is stylish but relatively detached. Although there are several scenes with warming lamplight, otherwise the colour palette is often cool, regularly illuminated by the glowing blue of an electronic device. D.O.P. Kryštof Melka regularly frames the characters in opposite mid-shots, seeming to emphasise their personal isolation, particularly as trust becomes more brittle. When they do begin to have sex with other people, it is evident from the get-go that Hana is both more interested in the idea, and more successful in her pursuit of it. The problems that ensue spring from the fact that while they both purport to being completely open with one another, neither is truly being honest. Initially this can just be seen in the interactions between the two. Petr pretends to be okay with the idea that they can sleep with other people because he thinks that’s what Hana wants, and he doesn’t want to confine her. Hana on the other hand seems to almost be goading Petr to put a stop to it, to show her that he’s not happy to share her. Things deteriorate as they escalate and the lies become all the more damaging.
With a narrative that feels like it could easily veer into all-out erotic melodrama, Borders of Love is impressively anchored by the performances of its two leads which don’t feel inauthentic for a single beat. Whether it is moments of shared passion, awkward sexual encounters, conversations leaden by feelings unspoken, or when both characters go off the rails in wildly different ways in the final act neither Vagnerová or Reznícek ever hit a bum note. The same can be said of Winski, who deftly balance the erotic and the emotional. Towards the film’s end, a character tells Hans that while sex is important in a relationship, it shouldn’t be at the expense of it. Adherence to that advice is partly what makes Borders of Love such a compelling watch.
Director: Tomasz Winski
Screenplay: Kasha Jandácková, Hana Vagnerová, Petra Hulová, Tomasz Winski
Producers: Jirí Konecný, Tomasz Winski, Tereza Nejedlá
Cast: Hana Vagnerová, Matyáš Reznícek, Martin Hofmann, Eliška Krenková, Antonie Formanová
Cinematography: Kryštof Melka
Editing: Jan Danhel
Sound: Michal Deliopulos
Music: Šimon Holý
Art Direction: Marek Špitálský
Production companies: Endorfilm, One Way Ticket Films, byPINK, Ceská televize (all Czech Republic), Lava Films (Poland)
Venue: Karlovy Vary (Crystal Globe Competition)
World sales: Loco Films
In Czech
95 minutes
