Queer drama: Last News

Passages—the queer love triangle drama from acclaimed filmmaker Ira Sachs—with an infamous NC-17 rating.Immediately, that puts a certain idea in your head about what kind of movie Passages might be: “Oh, NC-17? They must be f*ckin’ in this one—gratuitous nudity, explicit sex, and more, right?”Well, not quite. While the feature does include its fair share of love-making scenes (including an extended one with a “rear view,” which we’ll get to in a minute), it’s certainly not lewd or crude, and no more revealing than plenty of other films that have garnered an R rating.So what’s the problem then? As many are quick to point out, Passages‘ NC-17 rating reeks of homophobia, inspiring writer-director Sachs to call out the MPA for being “anti-gay, anti-progress, anti-sex.”To back up a bit, Passages is the story of a long-term couple, fussy director Tomas (Great Freedom‘s Franz Rogowski) and introspective artist Martin (out star Ben Whishaw), and a spirited woman named Agathe (Blue Is The Warmest Color‘s Adèle Exarchopoulos) who Tomas sparks a connection with after a surprising tryst.Torn between his partner and his new lover, Tomas ricochets to and from both of their lives, making things messier and messier in the process.