A lot of talk on Marija Kavtaradze’s Slow seems to have stemmed from the fact that the Lithuanian romantic drama has a languid pace. Placing this limitation of time is not entirely valid: how else do you tell a story that is a microscopic study of a relationship with limitations? Given its distant title, the film neatly earns its intimate revelations one by one. Here is a director who is patiently inviting you to step back and fall in sync with the development and urgency of a platonic bond that turns romantic. (Also read: Passages review: Ira Sachs’ relationship drama dazzles and frustrates)
Slow revolves around Dovydas (Kęstutis Cicėnas), a sign language interpreter who comes to assist a contemporary dancer named Elena (Greta Grinevičiūtė). After their first session with the students, Dovydas asks her out and Elena agrees. Their connection is not laced, thankfully, with an awkward meet-cute setup, but with instantaneous reaction and familiarity. “I had this strange feeling that I had known him all my life,” is what she would say of this moment. Then, Dovydas reveals that he is asexual- in a moment of tender desperation. “I’m not attracted to anyone sexually, I never have been. I like you, that’s why I’m telling you,” he tells her. She is taken by surprise, and reacts with a streak of confusion. Love is not enough to sustain this relationship. What else will it take?
Debuting at the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Slow ultimately…
NICKEY