Certified Copy

From Baudrillard's Simulacra & Simulation

"It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real...a hyperreal henceforth sheltered from the imaginary, and from any distinction between the real and the imaginary, leaving room only for the orbital recurrence of models and for the simulated generation of differences."

Yes this is one of those movies. One where the principal action is two characters walking around European cities talking about relationships and art and authenticity for 2 hours. But the really interesting thing about this movie is what Jim Emerson refers to as it's "slipperiness". The way the central relationship in the movie keeps shifting from scene to scence (Are we seeing a married couple? Are they divorced? Are they new acquaintances?) and they shift from speaking English to French to Italian. They move around from the city to the countryside, inside to outside and back in again. Ultimately, it seems the best way to take it in is to accept that THE objective reality of the film is whatever is on screen at the time, and that's all there is (Are we seeing a married couple? Yes. Are they divorced? Yes. Are they new acquaintances? Yes.) In that way, the film makes a kind of perfect, simple, sense. As Glenn Kenny writes at MSN Movies, "..this isn't a riddle film with a solution that, once sorted out, will add up to some sort of "Aha! THAT'S what it's all about!" moment...it's an experience that's intended to keep teasing things out of you, not a Chinese box puzzle yielding a pat solution."
The 'plot', such as it is, is more or less inessential as a unified event, but each moment has its own revelations and truths that may or may not add up to any one thing, and if you just kinda accept that and stop trying to 'figure it out' and you'll be carried along.