Man up, Paul

The film is about the contempt that develops from miscommuncation between the sexes. Camille represents the female stereotype in that she doesn't say why she's upset. She just plays the game of hotter/colder in the hope that Paul will figure out why she is upset. The viewer cannot blame her in a sense. She is trying to express to Paul, “Be a man! Be true to your self! Don't compromise! Even for me!” If she actually came out and said that, and he then he agreed that he would listen to someone else's wishes and be true to himself... well that would contradict the message. Notice that she really does not care what decision he makes about his career, so long as he makes it by himself. The root of the conflict is that Camille is upset because the rich American producer is dominating Paul, and Paul responds like a bitch. Paul lets the rich American hang out with Camille despite her insistence that she would rather travel with Paul. At this moment, the romance between Paul and Camille fizzled and died. The reason this moment killed the relationship is twofold. First, this incident showed that Paul cannot or will not compete and defend her honor, and second that he will compromise his artistic vision and yield to the rich American who obviously represents money.
In the apartment, Camille tests this hypothesis to confirm that her love is gone. She emotionally abuses him until he actually makes a decision that they are going away. She lights up at this prospect and says she loves him. She later admits that she lied and did not really love him, but I think her reaction still shows she was excited at the prospect of him growing a pair and making big boy decisions. In this way, Camille is the stereotypical female. Paul represents the weak male, forever intimidated by the strong female and cursed with the anxiety of losing her (which is very unattractive and leads to losing her). Paul's directness is very harmful to him in this sense. He says what he thinks and feels, which in this case, was doubt and fear over losing Camille. The difference between their communication, however, is their method. Paul thinks. Camille feels. Paul tries to fix their problems logically. Why? What's the reason for your lack of love? At which exact point did it stop? Etc etc. Meanwhile, Camille is answering these questions by means of showing him what type of behavior attracts her and doesn't attract her. She moves closer to him when he is warmer, away and cruel when he is colder. Their lack of communication or impossibility of communication reflects the infinite distance between the masculine and the feminine. The film is an absurd tragedy in that he loses everything and has no idea why. Good thing Camille dies though.