Product Details

• Actors: Jean-Michel Portal, Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, Mathilde Seigner, Vittoria Scognamiglio, Jacques Hansen
• Directors: Stéphane Giusti
• Writers: Stéphane Giusti
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Picture This
• DVD Release Date: November 11, 2003
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000CBL9I
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,121 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Man I Love" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

What gay man hasn’t sat beside a pool and dreamed of declaring his love to a beautiful straight boy whose Speedo fits just right? How many of us have dared to hope that we might actually get to peel the swimsuit away, or that our love might even be returned? Well, for the irrepressible Martin, just dreaming and hoping are no longer enough. Martin falls for the straight Lucas the moment he sees him leap from the high dive, and decides to take a leap of his own. Within minutes he declares his love to Lucas, who is less than thrilled. No one is more surprised than Martin, then when his seemingly hopeless infatuation ends up bringing him friendship, passion and even true love. The only problem is that, for Martin, it all may have come too late. This tender story of two lovers who find the meaning of life just as one of them is preparing to leave it will both warm your heart and break it, and have you smiling through your tears. Throw in a mother who roars around town in a pink Mercedes with outfits to match, AIDS activists fighting for better treatments, a deaf drag queen who signs his routines instead of lip- synching, a gay wedding and beautiful locations in and around Marseilles, and you have a uniquely French but touchingly universal love story.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Love Story in the Impeccable French Style, December 5, 2003

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Man I Love (DVD)

Perhaps the French do indeed have the market on love stories. THE MAN I LOVE is the improbable tale of a young gay man (Martin) living with AIDS who falls in love with an apparently straight diver and swim coach (Lucas) who comes to work at the Centre Nautique where Martin is the pool boy/janitor. Martin is so comfortable and carefree with his sexuality that he immediately pledges his attraction to the somewhat confused Lucas. Martin follows Lucas home where he lives with an especially lovely young Lise who immediately is infatuated with Martin's ability to use sign language (Lise teaches in a school for the hearing impaired) and encourages the mortified Lucas to include Martin in their social life. Things progress, Martin realizes he is coming to the end of his struggle with AIDS, invites his mother to meet Lucas, and gradually Lucas embraces his bisexuality and falls in love with Martin. All of this story is played (by an exceptional cast) as a simple tale of love and it is because of this honesty that the film succeeds. There is a tendency to push the Act Up movement - Martin's extended family engage in a laying in strike against the hospital for the French government's lack of AIDS research and treatment venues - but even this bit of grandstanding shows passion and compassion in a very real manner. The ending of the film, while edging a bit towards the saccharine, manages to quickly fall back in step and leaves the viewer with a sense of the power of love....as only the French can do! The setting in Marseilles is beautiful, the score is charming, and the mood is warm for a tough subject.

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Moving Love Story, November 21, 2003

By 

david_jon "david_jon" (Glen Cove, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man I Love (DVD)

Few gay themed love stories are as touching and moving as this one between Martin, a gay man, and Lucas, a seemingly straight man whom he has fallen in love with.

Maybe it is the fact that Martin is living with AIDS and realizes that time is precious, or just that he goes after what he wants, but he wastes no filling Lucas in on the way he feels, a feeling which at first Lucas doesn't seem to share.

But the two become friends, and as they do we begin to realize, as does Lucas, that something more is developing, something he never thought possible...or did he? Although he has a girlfriend, Lucas wonders, as does the viewer, if there isn't something missing.

Much of the pleasure of this film is in the small touches as the story unfolds, as we see Lucas come to the realization that this new friendship is developing into something more meaningful. From here the movie unfolds to it's very moving and satisfying conclusion.

You may find yourself wanting to watch this movie more than once, especially when you see how it ends. Repeated viewings only seem to make the story more meaningful.

This movie is a story of coming out, of being true to yourself, and the tremendous power of love.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A straight girl's favorite French movie..., November 13, 2003

By 

"natatocious" (E. Lansing, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man I Love (DVD)

A genuinely moving story, The Man I Love (original title: L'Homme que J'aime) centers on the unlikely but potent romance between a straight diver and a gay pool attendant.
The film, in typical French fashion, invites the viewer to look outside convention and towards the deepest potency of true compassion by focusing on more familiar themes like coming out and AIDS. The film quickly draws you into the secret world created by the two lovers as they confront mainstream social expectations as well as grief, doubt, pain, and their personal demons. In the best possible way, the characters establish themselves as men courageous enough to love unselfishly and care for each other. Truly a subtle and striking film!