Polish drama. Original title: “Powiedz mi, co czujesz”
Tell Me What You Feel is a snapshot of Polish youth and their efforts to leave the past behind. Based closely on true events, Łukasz Ronduda’s film depicts and dissects the burgeoning relationship between socially isolated, volatile Patryk and the more level-headed, outwardly well-adjusted Maria (Izabella Dudziak), a pair of artists in their early 20s.
This intimate, frequently insufferable film establishes an intensely emotional tone early on with a meet-cute at Maria’s art installation-cum-charity initiative “Tear Dealer,” a space that invites people to cry in exchange for money, their tears subsequently bottled in tiny vials. How you feel about that project will likely determine your opinion of Tell Me What You Feel itself, as the film refuses to communicate its characters’ conflicts in anything but the most explicit way, making character and narrative both subordinate to the therapeutic function of art.
After an awkward first sexual encounter introduces some tension, Patryk and Maria face their most embarrassing feelings head-on, attempting to get over their hang-ups via an exhausting series of bonding exercises, including swapping clothes, adopting each other’s voices, and even wetting themselves together in public. In fairness, the characters do occasionally acknowledge that they’re little more than bundles of neuroses and pathologies, as well as recognizing the privilege their generation enjoys and their more damaged, emotionally distant parents don’t.
But even this self-awareness is eventually subsumed into their compulsive navel-gazing. While the central couple might serve as a relatable depiction of a certain contemporary preoccupation with mental health, and Salasinski and Dudziak are both likable enough as performers, watching the film ends up feeling a little too much like eavesdropping on someone else’s therapy session.
