"Messidor" is the second Alain Tanner film I have watched, after "La Salamandre" (1971); I gave that one zero stars, but I'm giving this one ***. Maybe it's because it's about two girls while "La Salamandre" was about two guys? In any case, "Messidor" is a love poem to aimlessness (its liberations as well as its limitations), to girl-bonding (one girl is working and from the country, the other studying and from the city), and to the magnificent variety of the Swiss landscapes. It is very deliberately paced and decidedly not for all tastes: only put it on when you're in a patient mood. But if you do surrender to it, you may find it quite hypnotic, right up to its bitterly ironic ending. Tanner is a talented director (a conclusion that I came to even in his previous film that I disliked), with a highly distinctive, minimalistic style. The two grls are not exactly likable, but they are real (and beautifully acted).
Review of Messidor
