Film Review – Slow (2024)

Slow is a unique, captivating romantic drama by Lithuanian filmmaker Marija Kavtaradzė. A 2023 Sundance Award winner for Directing in World Cinema and 2024 Oscar nominee for Best International Feature Film, Slow tenderly, realistically, and sometimes painfully follows two characters who slowly fall in love.

The film stars Lithuanian actors Greta Grinevičiūtė as Elena and Kęstutis Cicėnas as Dovydas. Elena is a dance teacher who is preparing to teach a group of teenagers a dance for an performance. Dovydas arrives as Elena’s interpreter, as the young dancers are hard of hearing. There is an instant spark between Elena and Dovydas and they find themselves on a date that afternoon. When Dovydas reveals to Elena a handful of dates later that he is asexual, Elena is taken aback, but they choose to continue their relationship with this information. Their honeymoon stage of dating convinces both that this sexual difference is unimportant; as time goes on, they quietly begin to struggle to please the other in ways they innately may be unable to. The friendship and relationship building between Elena and Dovydas is slow, intimate, and realistic, and it is easy to root for them. Through multiple close-ups and tightly framed shots, the audience feels increasingly close to both characters and the ins and outs of their time together. These film decisions are especially impactful in keeping with the slow build of Elena and Dovydas’s relationship by inviting us intimately to experience their quiet smiles, gentle movements, loving gazes, or simple cuddling.

Asexuality in relationships is rarely explored in feature-length romantic dramas, and Kavtaradzė approaches the subject with grace and realism: how do two people in love, but with opposite sexual proclivities, find a way to make it work? Is it possible? The sexual contrast between Elena and Dovydas is beautifully illustrated by Kavtaradzė in the simple observation of their professions: as a dancer, Elena is constantly in tune with her body, using it for work and for pleasure; Dovydas’s profession as an interpreter requires little direct human interaction and no physical interaction.

Skilfully balancing and spending equal time with the nuanced parts of relationships both joyful and difficult, Kavtaradzė’s Slow is more than worth a watch for its unique subject matter, excellent shots and score, and wonderful performances by Grinevičiūtė and Cicėnas that linger well after the final shot.

★★★★

In cinemas May 24th / Greta Grineviciute, Kestutis Cicenas, Pijus Ganusauskas, Isabel Naveira, Tove Skeidsvoll / Dir: Marija Kavtaradze / Conic / 15