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Both Sides of the Blade poster

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RomanceDramaErotic film

Both Sides of the Blade

A film by Claire Denis

Original title · Avec amour et acharnement

Both Sides of the Blade is a 2022 romance, drama, and erotic film from France, directed by Claire Denis. The catalog lists a running time of 117 minutes.

Released
2022
Runtime
117 min
Country
France
Club rating
Not yet rated

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The EFC Take

A sharper way into Both Sides of the Blade.

Context for the first viewing. Formal questions for the second.

01 · The clean way in

Both Sides of the Blade is a romance and drama film released in 2022 from France, directed by Claire Denis. Its premise is concise but suggestive: Both Sides of the Blade is a 2022 romance, drama, and erotic film from France, directed by Claire Denis. The catalog lists a running time of 117 minutes. Treat the premise as an invitation, not an explanation; the film still has to reveal where its attention truly lives.

02 · The fresh take

What matters first is the film’s internal weather: the pressure, warmth, distance, or unease created between events. Genre works best as a pressure system rather than a box, so notice which expectations are honored, bent, or quietly ignored. Duration becomes expressive when a film knows what to compress, what to repeat, and what to leave breathing. Here, that canvas runs 117 minutes. What remains after the credits is a better measure than instant agreement or easy admiration.

Watch closely

Follow the use of space: closeness, separation, and blocked sightlines all carry arguments. Cinema becomes personal at precisely the point where explanation runs out.

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