Émilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses paths with Amber. Three girls and a boy – they’re friends, sometimes lovers and often both. -Synopsis

The movie opens w/ a Rear Window-like scene w/ a couple singing karaoke in the nude. We are then informed, “It began like this.” A woman in her mid-20s, Emilie Wong (Lucie Zhang), works in telemarketing; her side income comes from renting out a room in her 2bd. apt. She wants a female roommate, only this Camile Germain (Makita Samba) turns out to be a male teacher working on his PhD. There is a spark btwn the pair; she agrees to let him move in. Later on, we meet a 30-ish woman who is new to the area, Nora Ligier (Noemie Merlant from Portrait of a Lady on Fire), who is V excited to return to law school. Things don’t go as Nora expected, so she goes back to a role she knows- real estate agent.

I’ve fallen in love with people on screens before I’ve ever met them, so I can understand it. -Noemie Merlant (when asked how she related to her character)

This is an adaptation of 3 stories from Optic Nerve, a comic book series by Adrian Tomine. Three days before shooting began, the movie was acted on a Paris stage, as a rehearsal, in order to see what worked and what didn’t. This was also to speed up the shoot and limit COVID-19 exposure for cast/crew. The movie was filmed during the COVID pandemic; director Jacques Audiard said they took a lot of protective restrictions w/ constant testing. Audiard commented on the peculiarity of the situation, when most people were avoiding contact, the two stars would come on set, strip off their clothes, and climb into bed naked together.

The French title (Les Olympiades) refers to the Parisian district where the story takes place; it is a group of high-rises built in the ’70s (known as the largest “Chinatown” in Europe). The movie is shot in black & white, which may NOT appeal to younger audiences. A French viewer said that it made this (NOT so pretty) area look better. The (diverse) characters are rare to see in French movies, as some viewers commented. We realize that Emilie (the lead) is a BIT abrasive; this is rare for modern movies. Camile is brainy, yet avoids emotions; he doesn’t think sex (incl. friends w/ benefits situations) is a big deal. I think that the relationship btwn Nora and the cam girl was interesting; they start out as online friends. As a whole, it’s an under-cooked story. There is a LOT of nudity/sex; this will push away sensitive viewers. I was wondering: “Where is the chemistry and sensuality that we expect from French media?” I just didn’t buy it!

[1] The truly bilingual and bicultural reality of the main character here- Émilie- is awesome to watch- the switching between the 2 worlds between Voltaire and Kong Fu Tzu without even a blink. All the actors here are excellent and Audiard has produced yet another minor masterpiece…

[2] This film is not about millennials’ life in Paris, it’s about what an old man apparently- completely out of touch with the youth- imagines it to be. Dialogs sounds completely fake throughout. Parisian millennial friends and I spent the whole movie laughing at the innumerable absurdities.

The only thing that sounds sincere is the relationship between Nora and Amber.

[3] I was very disappointed with this movie. […] The actors are OK, but their characters are superficial, and I couldn’t care less of what happens to them. Even the black and white is not pretty. I think it was selected for Cannes 2021 only because of the reputation of Audiard.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews