This is a subtly faithful interpretation of Proust's The Prisoner in which Chantal Akerman makes chasers and voyeurs out of her viewers, craning to see around street corners, straining to make out desired shapes behind warped glass. While the camera pursues the truth about Ariane, who seems to be forever drifting away, we remain fixed in the claustrophobic world of Simon's preoccupied anxiety. As did Proust, Akerman opens a space for the exploration of co-dependent attachment, not only love, and the painful reality of the search for self- avoidance. The Prisoner leaves the viewer caught between the (apparent) bliss of Ariane's ignorance and Simon's monomaniacal certainty. For me, this is the closest French cinema has come (up to now) to bottling the elusive Albertine scent. The silent film reel that plays during the film's opening too recalls the playful beaches of Balbec In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, foreshadowing undoing and tragedy. A film for anyone who understands obsession.

I have seen a lot of movies in my life and I have never walked out of the movie theater and rarely ever stopped watching a movie. If I paid to see this, I would have walked out. We had to fast forward at 2x at that was the speed the movie could have been done at. Many long scenes with no talking at all and just driving. The characters were empty with no essence, no emotion, no depth to them what so ever. The man was pathetic and his submissive girlfriend had a blank expression on her face through the whole thing. This movie could have been saved if the hint of romantic relationship with the girlfriend and her female friend would have been woven into the story. Bottom line is that what this movie lacked is what lacks in a lot of relationships where people ask later "what went wrong?": lack of communication, thats what. Moodiness, and sad puppy dog looks don't do it, we need to know what is going on through the characters' heads, what makes them tick not just what makes them obsessed. One moment of anguish sobs at his grandmas arms is not enough to wake us up from the silent, expressionless coma this movie put us in. This movie should have never been made. No one should ever see this. It would truly be a waste of your time.

Even though I went to see the movie with great expectations, I didn't like the movie at all!!. I thought it was boring as it could be and except from the photography, everything else was worse than mediocre!! I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone!

Oh, my God. I can't believe so bad movie it can be made. Bad directed, bad written, bad cinematographered. The whole thing is garbage. After 112 minutes watching, I got nothing but one man and one woman. I can't imagine anything that the director want to tell. I really hate the movie. If you haven't watch it, do not take it. It's really bad.