Lack of good storyline.

It is a performances centric movie

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

By Claire Denis' standards, this film is a little slight. Which is not to say that it isn't great, but considering she is one of the greatest filmmakers working today (in my opinion of course), anything less than a flat-out masterpiece (as is the case with "Beau travail", "Trouble Every Day", and "L'Intrus") has to be considered a lesser effort from her. The visuals here are as ravishingly beautiful as anything she has ever done (or anything else by anyone I've seen for that matter), but the story (to the extent there is one) is a bit thin to support them. I'm always a fan of minimal plot, but this felt a little empty and sort of contrived. I could have also done without the occasional moments of magical realism that threatened to push the film uncomfortably toward cutesy, whimsical "Amelie" territory. The somewhat over-embellishing music didn't help in this respect either. In many other respects, this film comes as close to perfectly epitomizing what i look for in a film as anything I have seen (elliptical plot, minimal dialogue, endless moody shots of blurry florescent lights through windshields!). I wish all the perfect film-making had been applied to a more substantial narrative though. I like that the film strips the story down to it's barest essentials, but the story itself feels slightly trivial and flimsy.

This movie gets a lot of unjust criticism. People watch this movie expecting some kind of action-filled plot sequence, but this movie is made to convey a feeling; it conveys emotion and does so beautifully. This film conveys lust and some other emotions that don't even have names well, and it can only be known once it has been seen. Don't watch this movie looking for a twisting plot, just look at it as a piece of work that will make you feel... not think. I recommend turning off subtitles and listening to the french. Even if you don't speak it, the words are not important. What's important is that you leave your heart open for emotional stimulation.

The traffic jam sequence alone stands as an amazing and lyrical study of the rhythms of stop and start driving. The two lovers are so anchored in the magnetism of the present. This movie is a homage to human nature, and sexual attraction consummated. Also, I absolutely love that the film accepts and cherishes the moment as the lovers do. It's very French.

This is more a comment on what I have read above, here, then on the film itself. However, to start with the film: I enjoyed it deeply, mostly as a kind of cinematographic painting, rather than as a story.The shooting is sometimes breathtaking, the camera very close upon the actors. Even the love scenes,in general often boring, are lifted to a higher level of "beauty" by this method. Associations, minds wandering, it is all there.... and the locations are more French, than most French people will realize. That hotel room, as a tourist I have seen so many run down hotel rooms, these views looked very familiar. Now my comments on the negative criticisms above: of course dozing away in a little "nap" is understandable . I dozed away for 5 minutes too, during the opening scenes in the traffic jam. But the lack of understanding of different kind of film making, of which this is a fine example, disturbs me. Poor movie-goers, not knowing any better, maybe too much influenced by the monopoly of Hollywood blockbuster and video production? What a pity. Or is it my age, having developed my taste in cinema in the 1970s , when it was normal to go and see a Fellini, Chabrol, or a Fassbinder around the corner here....And the Jaws and Rambo(s)were not so overexposed as a hype as they would now be.(see the Matrix-III drama). Be glad this is still made. Anywhere.