Sightlines · reception
How Me and You and Everyone We Know was received
2005 · Miranda July · Me and You and Everyone We Know on Sightlines
The arc
Feted on arrival in 2005 — prizes at both Sundance and Cannes for a debut by a performance artist — it later became shorthand for everything the backlash hated about 2000s twee indie, before a Criterion edition and a new generation of July fans swung it back to beloved.
What’s debated
The eternal Miranda July split: is this radical sincerity or insufferable preciousness — and does its frank, deadpan handling of kids and sexuality read as brave or as squirm-inducing?
Its footprint
It gave the internet '))<>((' — 'back and forth. forever.' — an emoticon from an instant-message exchange that escaped the film entirely, living on as a meme, an in-joke among fans, and a surprisingly common tattoo.
Where it stands
A cornerstone of the 2000s American indie canon and a Letterboxd-era darling — the film you cite when arguing 'twee' could actually be great.
Did you know? Miranda July, then known as a performance artist making her first feature, saw it win a Special Jury Prize at Sundance and the Caméra d'Or at Cannes in the same year — a festival double few debuts have pulled off.