31/10/2023 - Swiss visual artist Yannick Mosimann crafts a singular film offering a raw look at relationships

Yannick Mosimann works across various audiovisual forms, including photography and expanded cinema, so it is no surprise his works are often experimental in their approach to both fiction and reality. There’s always something at stake, whether it’s human or nonhuman relationships, and an open and honest approach to the performative nature of the medium make Mosimann a director to watch out for. His latest film, Normal Love [+see also:
trailer
film profile], is perhaps more conventional-seeming than last year’s I have not been afraid of going blind for a long time, which was named the most controversial film at New Horizons, but both show the same yearning for dissecting life via observation. After showing in Zurich, Normal Love met its first international audiences as part of the Opus Bonum Competition at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Jeanne (Jeanne Spaeter) and Mike (Mike Argiz) agree to test the unarticulated expectations of heteronormativity by consensually stepping into a “quality love relationship” where all their actions should abide by 14 contractual clauses. The experiment is part of Jeanne’s own artistic practice and as its initiator, she has the benefit of creative distance. However, it is also revealed that she, at age 27, has never been in a relationship beyond casual flings. It’s a fascinating concept — rationalising coupledom to the limit of absurdity—and an even more beguiling subject to film. The two commit to keeping a small video recorder on at what seems like all times, through their first days, awkward moments, and fights.

There’s an inherently voyeuristic streak in anyone who’d get excited for such a documentary (and this reviewer pleads guilty), which is why Normal Love deserves a special place in the canon of such intimate explorations, mainly because of its unconventional form. Coupled with the harsh honesty of the protagonists — a dedicated refusal to abandon ship — the intense close-ups often end up focusing on a finger or a wall, while difficult conversations are being had. Often, we see Jeanne or Mike turning the camera on and off, but more often we don’t; they can easily seem to be actors rather than just people, if you think about the camera position and its framing. It’s not surprising to see how the topic of authenticity and “realness” keeps creeping up in their meta-conversations about the project, but the validity of these questions only testifies to the unexplored layers of performativity dormant in every heterosexual (at least) relationship. 

That said, Normal Love is not that wordy: it values pauses and silence, when needed. Additionally, the score is another elegant addition to the film style that decorates the often emotionally harsh content. Behind the compositions we have the director himself, joined by Leoni Altherr and Pascal Schärli, conjuring an unsettlingly rich atmosphere made out of ambient music and reverb. It’s as though there was an underlying need to beautify the raw visuals and dialogue, but in that need, one sees hope for a better understanding of love. A truly compassionate and curious documentary, Normal Love is a safe space for flaws, misunderstandings, and existential discoveries, one which knows well that only in such circumstances can one challenge their preconceived notions of romantic love.

Normal Love is a Swiss production by Project Axel Foley.