The protagonist of Ira Sachs’ Passages is German filmmaker Tomas (Franz Rogowski). He treats some days as reasons to switch romantic partners. This is where I stop being judgmental. Because I’m sure I, as well as many people, are just as mercurial as he is, so it’s better, then, to move to to introduce the two people he’s inadvertently hurting. The first is his British husband, Martin (Ben Whishaw). Martin understands that Tomas normally cheats after wrapping up one of his films.

The second is Agathe (Adele Exarchopoulos), a teacher he meets during the wrap party. Through his films, Sachs and his co-writer Mauricio Zacharias give us different kinds of characters, their recent work giving a twist to the bourgeois families that viewers normally see in other films. This time around, they returns to something close to Keep the Lights On, depicting complex young people. Here, they shows that people in their late thirties stick to the same toxic behaviour that the latter may have displayed a decade prior.

Tomas thinks that the world revolves around him which again, many people fall into such traps, but the film subverts this worldview. It does this by diving deep into Agathe and Martin. Agathe opens up to Tomas. Subtly, she shows that she has a life before him and she still has a life after him. With Martin, it makes sense that he and Tomas were together because the former is an artist. But that work fuels him more than his relationship. Showing these sides is one of Passages‘ merits.

The other big merit is how it captures Tomas’ carnality and whether or not Agathe or Martin are willing to match his intensity. This is my way of saying that the film frankly depicts the sex acts among these characters. Its depiction of sexuality earns it the NC-17 American rating that the distributors could wear as a badge of honor, although that rating also means that less people get to see the film.The framing here indicates how Tomas uses the space around him. Even when there are things blocking his full body in view, it captures an energy that wants to lash out.

Viewers also see Tomas showing either Agathe or Martin onto the bed with him. Which they love until, well, they don’t. Agathe and Martin have the capability to act normal in most environments. This is something that Tomas is incapable of doing. In watching Passages, some viewers may have some opinions on how Tomas should handle his love for two people, if at all. It’s difficult to judge Tomas, and Passage successfully petitions for us to empathize with him and his two lovers. Other elements in the film, like its performances and sound design, also enhance the controlled chaos that these characters feel.

Watch Passages in select Canadian theatres.