Airports are eerie and haunting places. They function as transit hubs for people who are either embarking on a journey or returning home, providing a space which acts like something akin to being in a state of limbo. There is a lot of thought and planning which goes into building these ‘cathedrals of the sky’ with some of the most famous architects commissioned to carry out the work. In A Perfect Enemy it provides the setting for an unfolding drama.
Jeremiasz Angust (Tomasz Kot) is in Paris to deliver a speech at a prodigious architectural conference. After The event finishes, he’s on his way to the airport when he’s stopped by a young lady (Athena Strates) and reluctantly agrees that she can share his taxi. This delay means they both miss their flights, which doesn’t exactly put his in the best of moods. Despite declaring that she doesn’t know him, Texel Textor insists on continuing their conversation. He starts to suspect that there’s an ulterior motive behind this contact.
A Perfect Enemy is an unusual and uneven psychological drama which manages to nail the landing despite walking an unsteady path. It does take a while to get used to the English accents but this slight oddness adds an extra layer of mystery to Kike Maíllo’s film. The dialogue is hit and miss but slowly and almost imperceptibly the narrative begins to build up tension until the dramatic finale. Playing with a number of storytelling tropes, A Perfect Enemy is a hard film to pin down but one which lives in the memory.
A Perfect Enemy screens at Grimmfest’s May Madness.
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