PETIT AMI PARFAIT

2022 / 88 min / color

The characters in Kaori Kinoshita and Alain Dell Negra’s film illustrate how intensely virtual reality can influence our everyday lives. The characters in Kaori Kinoshita and Alain Dell Negra’s film illustrate how intensely virtual reality can influence our everyday lives. She’s an attractive teenager who’s highly skilled at wrapping whole populations of gamers around her finger. There are men who spend most of their time keeping in touch with her, flirting and neglecting their obligations — and their real-life partners. They’re always just one step away from falling even more deeply in love with Rinko. In Perfect Boyfriend, the co-directors combine social drama with documentary elements to tackle an issue that has become increasingly topical in recent years, especially with younger people. It’s an attempt to escape from real life, which can bring up a whole spectrum of emotions, into the virtual world. Kinoshita and Dell Negra’s film is ultimately a poignant story about loneliness, but also about the fact that, in an increasingly digital reality, we still have a choice.