Tomorrow We Move

Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman (Window Shopping, A Couch in New York) is in the unique position of having achieved a considerable cult following without actually having created a canon of work deserving of cult status. The Akerman name is the only reason why this tepid and forgettable comedy is arriving on DVD (after no U.S. theatrical release). Tomorrow We Move revolves around a flaky widowed piano teacher (Aurore Clement, in a bad performance), who moves into the apartment of her daughter, a writer of second-rate erotic fiction (Sylvie Testud, in an even worse performance). The domestic combination doesn't quite click, so the women take the least logical step and decide to look for another apartment. While there are plenty of issues and ideas floating about here (identifying oneself with one's surroundings, forced relocation, generation and family gaps, even the discovery of a diary from a Jewish grandmother who perished in the Holocaust), there is no cohesive focus, the comic acting is too broad, and the symbolism is heavy-handed. Akerman fans may be drawn to this, but most others will likely find it boring. Not recommended. (P. Hall)