Flirt (1995 film)

Flirt is a 1995 drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley^[2] and produced by Good Machine.^[3]

Flirt
Directed by	Hal Hartley
Screenplay by	Hal Hartley[1]
Produced by	Ted Hope[1]
Starring	Bill Sage Dwight Ewell Miho Nikaido
Cinematography	Michael Spiller[1]
Edited by	Hal Hartley Steve Hamilton[1]
Music by	Hal Hartley Jeffrey Taylor[1]
Production company	Good Machine
Distributed by	Pandora Film (Germany)[1]
Release date	1995 (1995)
Running time	83 minutes[1]
Countries	United States Germany Japan[1]

Introduction

The story takes place in New York, Berlin and Tokyo, with each segment using the same dialogue.

In New York, Bill struggles to decide whether he has a future with Emily, while attempting to restrain Walter, the angry husband of a woman he thinks he might be in love with.

In Berlin, Dwight has a similar experience with his lover, while the events that befall Miho in Tokyo take a more dramatic turn.

Cast

• Bill Sage as Bill
• Dwight Ewell as Dwight
• Miho Nikaido as Miho
• Parker Posey as Emily
• Martin Donovan as Walter
• Hal Hartley as Hal
• Hannah Sullivan as Margaret
• Geno Lechner as Greta
• Toshizo Fujiwara as Ozu
• Chikako Hara as Yuki
• Peter Fitz as The Doctor
• Michael Imperioli as Concerned Bar Patron
• Harold Perrineau, Jr. as Man In Restroom #1
• Robert John Burke as Man In Restroom #2
• Liana Pai as Woman at Phone Booth
• Maria Schrader as Girl In Phone Booth
• José Zúñiga as Driver
• Holt McCallany as The Bartender

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 11 reviews.^[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[5]

Film critic James Berardinelli rated the film 2.5 out of 4 stars.^[6] Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave it 2 out of 4 stars, stating that "It is more amusing to talk about than to experience." While he expresses his appreciation of the film's experimentation and its illustration of the mantra that a film is about how it's presented rather than its subject matter, he opines that it is more of an intellectual exercise than an enjoyable watch.^[7] Writing for SPIN, Michael Atkinson said that "by the third replay of the same dialogue, you're significantly less enchanted with the material than Hartley apparently is with himself."^[8]

Alison Macor of The Austin Chronicle gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, describing it as an "intriguing ride" and as Hartley's most ambitious film.^[9] Film critic Emanuel Levy described it as "a semi-academic treatise about the limits of narrativity," and opined that it "offers some minor rewards."^[10]