There's a certain remoteness to the film. It tells, rather than shows. We never get a close-up of Manon's face, for example, nor do we see her fluttering eyelashes and trembling lips. Instead, a good many monotonic--if purposefully so--voice-overs take place throughout the film, to fill the audience in on her inner thoughts and also mark the passage of time. The camera keeps its distance, preferring mid-focal length and, much like Pierre, glued to its central characters yet refusing to understand.