Love Express

LOVE EXPRESS , or the new way of finding one's love-mate.... LOVE EXPRESS is a first feature film beautifully directed by the Russian born director Elena Hazanov. The encounter agency "Love Express" organizes a one-night cruise on the Léman Lake for single people. 30 men and women, with various reasons will meet on board. Some are looking for their soul mates, others just want to have a good time. The cruise is led by two ceremony masters André and Anne-Charlotte, who try to solve their own love affair, all this in between senseless animations, out-of-fashion songs and ambiguous couple games. A film to be seen by all the bachelors... and their friends!

Love Express is a film about relationships and stereotypes. The story takes place onboard a steam ship cruising Lake Geneva for one night. A large number of men and women are brought together with the idea of meeting that perfect mate or for having a laugh via the art of speed dating. The organisers of the cruise, Anne-Charlotte played by Mathilda May and André played by Vincent Winterhalter, have their own private love affair which forms the main story of the film.

Therin lies the problem with this film and perhaps explains its poor box office takings. There is not enough of a story behind Anne-Charlotte and André's relationship troubles to justify a feature length film. To pack in length stories of other couples are added but there is no overall gel to bring these stories together. To add a comic element characters are exaggerated using common stereotypes. At the end the film has the feel of a soap opera or a reality TV program.

To its benefit there are several brilliant performances. Sibylle Blanc in particular does a phenomenal job bringing life to a pragmatic drunk. Carlos Leal and Valeria Bertalotto also both did a fantastic job and deserve special mention.