A phone occasionally goes off on Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time. That phone belongs to Marta Vizy (Natasa Stork), a Hungarian-American neurosurgeon. And the person blowing up her phone is Helen (Linda Moshier). It’s good that Helen is occasionally checking on Marta. That’s because the latter, on a whim, leaves New Jersey for Budapest. She takes a job as a doctor in a hospital where the doctors and the patients are misogynists. This feels like a saintly reason to come home. But she also took the job because she’s following a fellow doctor, Janos Drexler (Viktor Bodo). He promised to meet her at Budapest’s Liberty Bridge, but he stood her up. What’s worse is that when she confronts him for the slight, he tells her that they have never met.

That film’s initial premise branches out to two possibilities. Either Janos played Marta or she made that connection up. What complicates this is her unexpected relationship with a patient’s son Alex (Bennet Vilmanyi). Her quasi-relationship with Alex is more interesting because they’re mirror images of each other, finding themselves experiencing unrequited love. And director-writer Lili Horvat plays this all out with a minimalistic approach that some artsy critics might like. But sometimes, minimalism can come off as frustrating. Some critics see and hear atmosphere and others who are sane laymen see bad lighting and a derivative synth score. Some critics see love and dedication as Marta pores through Janos’ books and videos and others see a stalker. Viewers have been on either or both sides of stalking – it is not cute.

Some reviews have compared Horvat’s film to Petzold and Kieslowski. And there are traces of those auteurs in scenes where Marta calls Janos or looks out of her window. Any viewer can compare those scenes to any New Hollywood or their European counterparts. But those directors did it better than this one, which just comes off cold. Another reason this film falls apart is because of its romantic interest. Bodo reminds me of Ronald Zehrfeld, a thick Central European man with a good haircut. Horvat’s choice to make him look uglier as her film progresses feels obtuse. Is this some kind of metaphor where Janos symbolizes Hungary, a country not worth returning to? Her unclear intentions reflect the third act revelation which doesn’t feel like the film earns it. And that last shot – nope.

Viewers might still want to watch Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time. Thus, it is available in four different Canadian cities. Two of those cities are playing the film through virtual cinemas. Torontonians and Canadians can watch it on digital.tiff.net. Find out how else to watch it on https://www.filmswelike.com/films/preparations-to-be-together-for-an-unknown-period-of-time.