Right out of the box we are given visual signals and verbal statements to prepare us for what is to come in this deliciously sensuous and unexpected hybrid of a film. The warning is spoken straight into the camera by a naked young woman Eden (Bobbi Jene Smith) reclining on a bed. She explains that she is a dancer, but in this moment she is acting. She also adds that since there will be more dancing than acting, that is the case for all of the “actors”. To the extent that there is anything linear to comprehend, the film is a romance between Aviva and Eden. However, they will each be played by two different actors of the opposite sex. Have you got it yet? Eden will also be played by Tyler Phillips, and Aviva will be played by Zina Zinchenko and Or Schraiber. All of the other characters are dancers former members of the Batsheva Dance Company.

When we meet the couple, Aviva is played by Zina Zinchenko, a fiery red-haired beauty with tattooed alabaster skin and enormous azure eyes. Eden is a handsome low-keyed young man. They are just meeting each other in Paris after months of intense online courtship. In person, they are opposite. Aviva is completely open, available and impulsive. Eden, not so much. He is guarded, insecure, and aloof compared to the person he presented online. What follows has no visible structure, but rather consists of vignettes which illustrate the elements of a relationship in various stages. If this sounds like it is will be easy to follow, give it up. Just when you get comfortable, the genders change places creating a same-sex couple. It can be disconcerting.

Additionally, there are the dance segments, of which there are many. They are used to illustrate incidents in the story and are almost completely danced. These are fantastically muscular dancers performing moves which reference emotional states and motivations in interactions among individuals or groups. These include our lead characters in their various embodiments. Sometimes they flow easily into the picture and at others they feel like a scene from American in Paris. But whenever they arrive, they are welcome and stunning. And lest I forget the ingredients which are in the greatest supply in this film – nudity and sex. There is a ton of sex in diverse iterations. Yet, it never feels gratuitous. Neither does it’s explicitiness ever feel pornographic. It just feels……….really sexy.

Yakin has made an audacious and gorgeous film, if at times, it could fairly be accused of excess. The sets are stunning, beautifully art directed, expressively lit. The camera has its own unique choreography which enhances the lyrical and dreamlike storytelling framework. The individual characters are appealing and beautiful. It combines the best of dance and theatre. If you open up your mind and go with the flow, you will be richly rewarded.

Streaming on on JCC Manhattan and Angelika Film Center