| Director: | Ira Sachs |
| Cinematography: | Josée Deshaies |
| Editing: | Sophie Reine |
| Studio: | SBS Productions |
| Distributor: | SBS Distribution |
| Runtime: | 92 minutes[1] |
| Country: | France |
| Gross: | $1.1 million[2] |
Passages is a 2023 French romantic drama film co-written and directed by Ira Sachs and starring Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, and Adèle Exarchopoulos. The plot depicts a narcissistic German filmmaker whose marriage to an English man undergoes a crisis when he begins an affair with a young French woman.[3] [4]
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2023. It was released theatrically in France on 28 June 2023 by SBS Distribution and in the United States on 4 August 2023 by Mubi. The US release drew significant media attention after the Motion Picture Association (MPAA) assigned the film an NC-17 rating, prompting Mubi to release it unrated instead. Passages received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Rogowski's performance.
Tomas, a German filmmaker living in Paris, wraps production on his latest film. At the cast party at a nightclub, his husband Martin, an English printer, is tired and declines to dance. Tomas dances with Agathe, a young primary school teacher; he later goes to her home and they have sex.
The next day, Tomas admits to Martin that he slept with a woman and felt a renewed excitement he has not felt in years. Martin is hurt by Tomas's callousness. When Martin refuses to discuss the state of their marriage immediately, Tomas attempts to pack a suitcase, but Martin stops him, and they share a tender moment. However, Tomas soon meets Agathe at his editing suite, and they resume their affair.
Tomas and Martin travel to their country house. Tomas complains that their relationship has become too safe and predictable, while Martin accuses Tomas of falling in love with Agathe. Back in Paris, Martin meets Amad, a writer and novelist, through a mutual friend at a restaurant. When Tomas arrives, he is somewhat hostile towards Amad and later tells Martin he finds Amad "an arrogant prick". As they leave, Tomas claims to be heading to the editing room but goes to Agathe's instead and spends the night there. In the morning, after Agathe sings Tomas a lullaby from her childhood, he confesses he has fallen in love with her.
Tomas and Martin separate, and Tomas moves in with Agathe. Returning to the apartment to collect his things, Tomas finds Martin reading Amad's book. Martin informs him he intends to sell the country house. Later, Tomas uses his key to enter the apartment unannounced and finds Amad taking a shower; he storms out in a jealous rage. Following a poor test screening of his film, Tomas seeks comfort from Martin at his workplace, but Martin demands his keys back.
Tomas encounters Martin and friends at a restaurant while dining with Agathe, but the men ignore each other. Tomas later forces his way into Martin's apartment, insisting on staying the night so they can repair the country house roof the next morning. Martin relents. That night, Tomas initiates sex with Martin. The next morning, Tomas reveals that Agathe is pregnant.
Tomas attends a dinner with Agathe's parents, who interrogate him about his family and his past with Martin. Tomas becomes defensive and hostile. He later returns to Martin, claiming his film's latest screening was a success. He tells Martin he misses being with a man and proposes they raise Agathe's baby together as a family. Martin breaks up with Amad, who warns that the toxic dynamic between Tomas and Martin will destroy them both.
Some time later, Agathe, Tomas, and Martin are at the country house. Agathe overhears the two men having sex. That night, Tomas climbs into bed with a weeping Agathe. She subsequently cuts off contact with him. In a lunch meeting with Martin, Agathe reveals she has had an abortion, realizing she would eventually be erased by the dynamic between the two men. Martin is devastated, because Tomas knew beforehand and hadn't told him.
Martin returns to the apartment and ends his relationship with Tomas for good, refusing to go to Venice with him and demanding no further contact. Desperate, Tomas goes to Agathe's school. He begs for forgiveness and asks her to come to Venice with him, but she rejects him and walks away. Tomas gets on his bicycle and rides aimlessly through the streets of Paris.
Director Ira Sachs wrote the screenplay with his frequent collaborator Mauricio Zacharias during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Sachs cited the films Je t'aime moi non plus (1976) by Serge Gainsbourg and The Innocent (1976) by Luchino Visconti as inspirations for the tone and texture of the film.[7]
Sachs wrote the role of Tomas specifically for Franz Rogowski after seeing his performance in Michael Haneke's Happy End (2017) and the Sebastian Meise film Great Freedom (2021).[6] Ben Whishaw and Adèle Exarchopoulos were cast shortly before production; Sachs did not hold chemistry tests between the actors, preferring to discover their dynamic during filming.[8]
Principal photography began on 15 November 2021 in Paris and was completed in just 15 days.[7] [8] The costume designer was Khadija Zeggaï, who worked to reflect the characters' psychology through their wardrobe, particularly Tomas's eclectic style.[9] [10]
Notable for its explicit sex scenes, the film was shot without an intimacy coordinator. Sachs stated in interviews that he prefers to work directly with actors to choreograph intimate scenes, viewing them as dialogue scenes that require directorial oversight rather than third-party intervention.[6]
Passages had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2023.[11] It subsequently screened in the Panorama section of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2023,[12] and at the 27th Lima Film Festival in the Acclaimed section on 10 August 2023.[13]
Mubi acquired distribution rights for the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Latin America shortly after the Sundance premiere, later adding Germany, Austria, Italy, Turkey, and Benelux to its territories.[14] [15]
The film was released theatrically in France on 28 June 2023 by SBS Distribution.[16] It opened in select theaters in the United States on 4 August 2023, expanding in subsequent weeks.[17]
Ahead of its U.S. theatrical release, the Motion Picture Association (MPAA) assigned the film an NC-17 rating, citing "some explicit sexual content". The rating was widely discussed in the media, with commentators noting that the film depicts consensual queer intimacy rather than violence.[18]
Sachs described the rating as "a form of cultural censorship that is quite dangerous, particularly in a culture which is already battling, in such extreme ways, the possibility of LGBT imagery to exist".[18] Mubi issued a statement calling the decision "unexpected" and "deeply disappoint[ing]" and rejected the rating, choosing to release the film in the United States unrated.[19]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 186 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Elevated by a remarkable Franz Rogowski performance, Passages adds another smart, deeply humanistic film to director/co-writer Ira Sachs' estimable filmography."[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100, based on 41 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21]
Critics praised the film's intimate and raw depiction of a toxic relationship. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang described it as "a beautifully acted romantic triangle" with "major Sachs appeal", praising the director's refusal to judge his flawed characters.[22] Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "searing chronicle of romantic chaos", singling out Rogowski's performance as "magnetic" and the film's sex scenes as "among the most persuasive and integral to character and story in recent memory".[5] Many critics noted parallels between the character of Tomas and the life and work of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.[23] [24] Filmmakers Chloe Domont, Andrew Haigh, Zoe Lister-Jones, Rachel Morrison and James Ponsoldt all cited Passages among their favorite films of 2023.[25]
In June 2025, IndieWire ranked Passages at number 57 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)".[26]
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin International Film Festival | 25 February 2023 | Panorama Section – Best Film | Ira Sachs | [27] | |
| Teddy Award for Best Feature Film | [28] | ||||
| Guadalajara International Film Festival | 9 June 2023 | Maguey Award | Passages | [29] | |
| Gotham Independent Film Awards | 27 November 2023 | Best Feature | [30] | ||
| Outstanding Lead Performance | Franz Rogowski | ||||
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | 30 November 2023 | Best Actor | [31] | ||
| IndieWire Critics Poll | 11 December 2023 | Best Performance | [32] | ||
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | 21 December 2023 | Best Actor | [33] [34] | ||
| Satellite Awards | 17 February 2024 | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | [35] | ||
| Independent Spirit Awards | 25 February 2024 | Best Film | Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd | [36] | |
| Best Director | Ira Sachs | ||||
| Best Lead Performance | Franz Rogowski | ||||
| Best Supporting Performance | Ben Whishaw | ||||
| GLAAD Media Awards | 14 March 2024 | Outstanding Film – Limited Release | Passages | [37] | |
