Known for his lengthy 3+ hour documentaries, the legendary Frederick Wiseman is back in fiction, directing a 64-minute movie about a long term relationship between a man and a woman. The man is Leo Tolstoy. The woman is his wife, Sophia. They were married for 36 years, had 13 children nine of whom survived.
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn has seen the film and had these eloquent, but briefs thoughts about it:
“This is another bold creative swing from the veteran filmmaker, a tense and absorbing acting showcase with visual splendor to spare. It’s a powerful meditation on the value of solitude in clarifying one’s thoughts, which makes it all the more relevant in today’s post-pandemic landscape, and another reminder that Wiseman hasn’t lost any of his filmmaking magic in his ninth decade.”
“Un Couple” will be going to Venice, New York and Toronto this fall. It’s most likely as good as Eric makes it out to be. Plus, that one-hour runtime is a fantastic and easy way to fit this film into a moviegoer’s stacked festival schedule.