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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Nathalie Baye and Sergi López are lonely lovers who meet through an ad in a singles magazine for anonymous sex and fall in love. Frederic Fonteyne's tender portrait of a brief affair is framed in flashback: the two lovers recall their relationship for an unseen interviewer (a technique that recalls Ingmar Bergman's Hour of the Wolf and Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives), putting on a tough, scarred front that hides their regret. In the flashbacks, however, Fonteyne captures a sense of discomfort and anticipation in their first meeting that turns relaxed and passionate as their relationship deepens. Baye's nervous smiles become genuine and joyful as she grows more confident in López's company, and he nicely straddles the line between nonchalant openness and emotional defensiveness. Fonteyne's naturalistic style is broken only for the almost surreal vision of the hotel where they meet: they pass through a hellish crimson hall before entering their room, a cool blue sanctuary--a heaven on the other side of purgatory. It was released under a different name in France, an ironic title that translates to A Pornographic Affair, but the film is a sensitive, delicate portrait of fragile souls who allow self-doubts and second guesses get in the way of their own honesty. --Sean Axmaker
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Parisian Love Affair,
This review is from: An Affair of Love (DVD)
I really, really liked this film. It is modern, stylish, and quintissentially French. The actors have a depth and range, and convey their emotions flawlessly. The premise is simple: a woman puts an ad in a magazine advertising a sexual fantasy she has that she wants to act out. Her intent is to have a purely sexual affair, no names, no details of every day life, no mess. A man answers her ad, shows up to meet her at a cafe, and they decide to go forward to this mysterious place they will create together, alone. They begin to meet weekly at a hotel, and sometimes first at the cafe. They stumble over emotions which crop up here and there, and have trouble deciding whether or not to stay in each other's company for a drink after their liasions, whether to let Him drive Her home. They have the drink. She opts for the Metro. They do this dance of uncomfortable union around each otber. I give this movie Five stars for really incredible acting, as well as nice use of color and style (ie: deep, dark reds (for the hallway in the hotel), subdued blues (for the room, which we don't get to see at first, but which becomes open more and more to us as the couple's relationship progresses), nice shots of the cafe, the streets in the rain, etc). I found both stars highly magnetic and attractive, and very, very expressive. The man carried his heart in his eyes, and they reflected the joy he felt with her, the intense sorrow, the restless erotic anticipation. In turn, the woman's mannerisms and movements seemed to reflect the stages of their relationship. This film is a must-see for fans of modern World Cinema. It played at the Seattle International film festival, where Nathalie Baye won an award for Best Actress.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tower of Love,
By
This review is from: An Affair of Love (DVD)
"An Affair of Love" (numbskull translation from the French, "Une Liason Pornographique") poses the question: How do you avoid falling in love with someone you make love to once a week for six months?
The protagonists coyly named (or not named, really) Her (Nathalie Baye, luminous and oozing with humanity) and Him (Sergi Lopez, slightly menacing, slit-eyed, friendly) meet each other through an ad for the sole purpose of having sex once a week. Very Adult, Very French, Very Non- Committed: they go into the affair with their eyes open, their bodies available and willing and their hearts closed. The affair is conducted very much like a fencing match: each one advancing, looking for a reaction and retreating when there is none or not the one they want. It is very apparent to us that they are in love about half way through the film even though they do not know each other's name or anything about each other's life. Is this possible, does this make sense? Oh yes. Loved played at this kind of level is what Her calls: Ivory Tower Love. Love of the highest, though not the deepest order. Director Frederic Fonteyne's mise en scene is bursting with the beauty of the Eiffel Tower area of Paris: cars buzzing by, café's busy with customers drinking espresso and red burgundies and eating plates of cheese and sausages and he throws Him and Her into all of this with the see-all camerawork style of cinema verite'. "An Affair of Love" ends with a huge sigh: not of relief but a sigh of lost chances and wasted opportunities: it is thoughtful, it is real, it is ultimately full of sorrow and regret.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Warning: Censored, 'cleaned-up' american DVD version,
By Polymathe (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - See all my reviews
This review is from: An Affair of Love (DVD)
This is an adult movie, for adult audiences. A love affair between two strangers. A misunderstanding and a memory of what it could have been.
I longed for this DVD and just received it from Amazon last week. But to my disappointment is was a CENSORED version, for the american audiences: Ten minutes were cut from the original european version! All the sexually explicit scenes were banned (true: the movie still keeps it's atmosphere). I never tought I was ordering a 'clean movies' version. I'd rather have ordered it from Amazon.fr (integral full-version, with english subtitles) :-(
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