Ben And Suzanne, A Reunion In 4 Parts

Long distance relationships are notoriously difficult. The difference between who people are, separately, and the versions of them living in our heads grows with space and time. Over the long months since she left the US to go and work for an NGO, Suzanne and Ben have both been looking forward to reuniting in Sri Lanka, but of course nothing will be quite as they imagined. We watch Ben from a distance as he navigates the airport, then as the two of them embrace, impulsively and excitably, in the street. When we zoom in closer, we begin to see the problems.

As its title suggests, this reunion – of two characters whose relationship has previously featured in short films, though you don’t need to have seen those to follow it – is comprised of four chapters, with the title of the first, The Degrading Vacation Of Ben Santhanaraj, setting the tone for what is to follow. When their ride arrives, he discovers that he and Suzanne will be staying not in a hotel but in the home of her employer, which means having separate rooms, because Suzanne feels that anything else would be inappropriate. In short order, he also learns that she is now a vegan, and teetotal, and has lost interest in sexual pleasure. Are these wholly new developments, or indicative of something that was always within her? In addendum, in emerges that she has never seen Starship Troopers.

Is there still room there for love? Ben’s expectation that they would be enjoying a holiday together collapses when Suzanne reveals that she still has some work to do, and he gets an insight into the darker side of microfinance NGOs, whilst she struggles to balance her own disappointment in a life she had hoped would achieve something noble with her desire to save face in front of him. Their previous closeness and resulting ability to see through each other becomes a barrier to shared happiness. The work at least means that they get to travel, with driver Mohammad, polite but observant, providing an interesting third contributor to what is largely a series of conversations. This allows director Shaun Seneviratne to reveal something of what life is like for ordinary people in poorer parts of Sri Lanka, and to do so without either romanticising them or passing judgement.

Because of his Indian heritage, people keep assuming that Ben will be able to speak the language, making him even more acutely conscious of his outsider status. Suzanne, meanwhile, seems quite at home, even if she has inadvertently found herself a member of an exploitative class, and the prospect of her returning to the US, though it’s rarely directly discussed, seems to grow more distant. It’s clear that the relationship is in trouble. Renewed familiarity breeds contempt. Is there any hope of them finding their way back to what they had – or even finding something new?

Awkwardness is the order of the day, but it’s addressed in a graceful, fluid style that lifts this above the usual run of indie romances. Ben and Suzanne are both tall and skinny and look as if they have been shot in a different aspect ratio from those around them, the brittleness of their bodies extending to their relationship. Still, even as life goes to shit (at one point literally), Seneviratne keeps the tone light and effervescent, the character interactions, generating as much comedy as they do misery. The humour makes us feel for them more deeply, and their various failings and disappointments are, at times, very funny.

One of the highlights of 2024’s South by Southwest, this is an enjoyable and endearing film which will appeal to people far beyond the usual romcom crowd. It will worm its way into your heart and leave you wanting to know more.