Seems most of the reviewers missed the point of this film. Or perhaps they've seen/ read the previous material it's based on and had some expectations. I came upon this film without any knowledge of prior material or expectations.

This little film is great as an exploration of how human attraction and bonding works.... when it's put into an accelerating circumstances of life threatening situation. And as a look at sudden intimacy, even codependency, between the "last two people on earth" (well not really, but there's that feel to it) it's actually achieves a lot of depth and freshness, probably because the director is a European woman.

However I can see how some could expect something else from it. The director almost completely disregarded a coherent explanation of what's really going on in the country that puts them in danger. Like yeah the main male character is doing something shady or that's what CIA wants you to think, during tough tumultuous times in a Central American country and gets in trouble for it, but that's practically it. Perhaps she felt it's not important because that's not what she's focusing on, and perhaps if she had focused more on that the film would be more of "casserole" lol and that would not necessarily work or help... But I must agree with some reviewers that the way it's presented now in the film it kind of does give off colonial or even white European/ American colonial vibe. Like, times have changed since the 80s when the original came out (or was it the book that came out then? Not sure), and Americans and Western Europeans are not necessarily seen as the nice guys anymore, and she kind of tried to present too, but it fell flat somehow. Not sure why though... was it the fault of the source material that came out in the 80s or is it the result of Western European sense of elitism, even superiority that they still have? I can't quite put my finger on it yet.

STARS AT NOON is a French romantic thriller that follows the story of an American journalist, Trish (Margaret Qualley), and a mysterious English businessman, Daniel (Joe Alwyn). Trapped in Nicaragua during the height of its civil war in the 1980s, they become embroiled in political conspiracies and must rely on each other to find a way out.

The film is a cat-and-mouse game where the stakes are high, and where tension is ever-present. The cinematography is stunning, with spectacular shots of Nicaragua's lush landscape and its turbulent political climate. Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn deliver powerful performances, convincingly capturing the desperation of their characters while still creating an intense and palpable chemistry.

STARS AT NOON is a slow burn - often too slow - that never quite reaches its potential. Though the story is compelling, the political intricacies of the era are not always clear, and the narrative fails to fully realize its themes.

Overall, STARS AT NOON is an ambitious and captivating thriller with moments of real beauty and insight. Though it could benefit from a more streamlined narrative and a faster pace, it's worth a watch for its gorgeous visuals and strong performances.

Claire Denis's latest post-colonial anatomy of oppression is a contemporary replay of the 1984 Sandanista revolution in Nicaragua. Hence the covid masks, cellphones and assumption of American weakness.

As the American wouldbe journalist trying to escape, Trish (Margaret Qualley, Andie Macdowell's daughter) has a curiously Latina aspect in her character. With her fluency in Spanish, her dark hair and striking features she could "pass." But her expose of government kidnappings and killings have frozen her passport. Her pretence to press privilege is false. The American publisher of tourist blather wants nothing to do with her. She is rootless in a strange land.

To buy airfare home she sells sex - but only for US dollars. She also uses sex to keep two local "friends" to help her. As she says, "one can't get it up." That would be the fossil Minister of - wait for it - Vice. The other, a studly selfserving cop - to her tribulation - can. Her last hope - both for escape and sexual satisfaction - is the mysterious British salesman Daniel, who himself turns into a political liability when he meets her in the lions' den.

The helpless American's dependence upon the white-suited Brit is itself a historic echo of damaging colonialism. As in her abbreviation of Patricia, Trish is reduced altogether, unable to draw on American support, disdained by the locals, especially those who suffer for trying to help her, like the driver whose lifeline auto is burned for his effort. The outside world isn't awed by "America" anymore.

So for all her modernity the lovely Trish remains exemplar of The Ugly American. She insults the black owner of her motel, her "cesspool." Though scrambling (so to speak) for the Yankee dollar, Trish lavishes cordobes on the locals whom she endangers with her demands. For all her presumption of agency - both as American and as Modern Woman - her salvation rests with a CIA doofus.

Denis's film is an experience. Its scenes of wit, arousal and initiative barely conceal its overwhelming spirit of helplessness.