The Story of My Wife

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The Story of My Wife

2021

2h 49m

Drama

Romance

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Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

26%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Jakob Störr, a Dutch seasoned sea captain, makes a bet in a café to marry the first woman who enters the place. And then in walks Lizzy...

Critics Consensus

The Story of My Wife gets a pair of strong performances out of its talented leads, but they're wholly undermined by a story that's nowhere near compelling enough to support the movie's sprawling runtime.

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Boyd van Hoeij

The Hollywood Reporter

Cinephiles who are fans of Enyedi's work will be left wondering whether her idiosyncratic voice took an extended vacation when she made this film.

Jul 16, 2021

Full Review

Jessica Kiang

Variety

"Story" falls into every trap of the over-reverential adaptation: individual scenes go on too long, there are far too many of them, and everyone sounds like they're reading when they speak.

Jul 16, 2021

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Screen International

When the dialogue sounds this inauthentic, there's little chance of persuading the audience that the relationship at the film's core is genuine, or indeed anything worth caring about.

Jul 16, 2021

Full Review

Hector A. Gonzalez

The Movie Buff

A gorgeously-looking 3-hour romance epic about jealousy, amorous escapades, and toxic masculinity carried by an excellent performance by Léa Seydoux. But there is a catch within the sea of melancholy and isolation.

Rated: B-

Sep 8, 2024

Full Review

Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

Cold, artificial, solemn, with zero chemistry between the protagonists; a film almost three hours long that gifts us some masterful shots and very little else. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 2/5

Mar 15, 2024

Full Review

Amparo Cabal

EscribiendoCine

Naber's performance and, especially, Seydoux's captivating characterization hardly keep a ship afloat that, nonetheless, is inevitably going adrift. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/10

Mar 14, 2024

Full Review

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Marc M

Interesting movie with nice backgrounds which create a nostalgic atmosphere. It is a long movie, but it avoids falling into standard twist and turns. It is obvious that lead players are destined to part in their relationship, but you are not sure if this will happen as it seems they are also in a way interdependent! Looking for something long and different, this is your thing!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/19/24

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r m

the first hour and 20 minutes of nothing. then I turned it off.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/12/24

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Andrei D

Too long, not too smart

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/02/23

Full Review

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Ildikó Enyedi

Director

Léa Seydoux

Lizzy

Gijs Naber

Jakob

Louis Garrel

Dedin

Sergio Rubini

Kodor

Jasmine Trinca

Viola

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Synopsis

Jakob Störr, a Dutch seasoned sea captain, makes a bet in a café to marry the first woman who enters the place. And then in walks Lizzy...

Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Producer: Mónika Mécs
Screenwriter: Ildikó Enyedi, Milan Faust
Production Co: Arte France Cinema, RAI Cinema, Inforg-M&M Film Kft., Palosanto Films, Komplizen Film, WDR/Arte
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Runtime: 2h 49m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)