Os Nomes do Amor

A very good friend and I saw this film at the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival. We both thought that it was hilarious and charming. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film, the theater was resounding with loud bursts of laughter from the audience. That continued throughout the course of the film. Frequently, French "comedies" can be very intelligent, enjoyable and well worth seeing. But they are rarely, (at least since the days of Jacques Tati') "laugh out loud" funny. I am very frustrated by the fact that (at least to my knowledge) there has not been a major release of this film in the movie theaters in the Los Angeles area. I would love to be able to share this delightful film with family and friends! I have been able to locate very few reviews of the film by media film critics. While virtually all of these reviews have been very positive, some have tended to pigeon-hole the film as being a satire of some of the more esoteric components of French culture and society, and therefore not likely to be of interest to film-goers who are not especially knowledgeable or interested in a comedy focused on such a theme.

This could not be further from the truth! The reality is that the film works wonderfully on its own terms, and that to thoroughly enjoy it one need not be particularly conversant in the intricacies or peculiarities of French culture. I am praying that, at the very least, the film is released in a home video format with English language subtitles. Then, at least, purveyors of fine foreign films would get the opportunity to see and enjoy it.! And I would not be deprived of the vast pleasure of sharing it with friends who enjoy high quality films!

Update: Very good news! Subsequent to the writing of this review, both the Sunday LA Times and the Sunday New York Times published special editions of their summer movie "sneaks" ie films to be released this summer-and both indicated that "The Names of Love" would be playing in theaters commencing around the end of June/beginning of July. Don't miss it!

You will never change your political opponents' minds by arguing with them, but what if you have sex with them? Baya Benmahmoud (Sara Forestier) lives her life by this mantra. She is an ultra-leftwing idealist who sleeps with right wing fascists to convert them politically. She even keeps a scrapbook of her successful conversions; most of them are now some sort of shepherd. While listening to bird-flu expert Arthur Martin (Jacques Gamblin) in a radio station one day, Baya bursts through the studio's door and argues with him on the air that if you can't trust ducks, then what is this world coming to? This is a very amusing argument and also makes for a humorous lead character introduction.

Any other film, such as an American one, would construct Arthur as a rock solid conservative and make it Baya's quest to convert him. Ah, but this is an intelligent French film. Arthur is a socialist and while not nearly as leftwing as Baya, he proudly states he voted for Lionel Jospin. A warning: if you do not know who Lionel Jospin is, you will miss an amazing and funny scene. The Names of Love takes a sharp turn from where the film was leading the audience. It is not a romantic comedy, well, not all the way. Much screen time is devoted to Baya and Arthur's respective families and to what extent they identify themselves as French citizens.

Baya's father is from Algeria and vividly remembers the French Army shooting many of his relatives in the war. Her mother is a hippie who thinks everything non-French is fascinating which is why she marries a man with the last name Benmahmoud. Arthur's folks at first appear to be the exact opposite of the first couple and are shown boring and set in their specific way of life. However, there is a lingering secret past with Arthur's mother which is not necessarily hidden from view, but takes on more of a role as the film progresses.

The Names of Love starts out at a fast clip with both leading characters taking their turns talking directly into the camera about their youths and where they imagine themselves on the political spectrum. After a half hour or so, this starts to taper off and a more somber and contemplative mood takes over what was almost a comedic farce. Arthur and Baya are shown interacting with each other's unfamiliar cultures and testing their respective boundaries. The script is whip smart and expects a lot from its audience, especially from its non-French audience. I give a high mark to how intelligent and probing this film is, but be wary of the shift from light comedy to more serious introspection.

I must have watched a French comedy and put the titles of all the films previewed on my Netflix list, because they keep coming. Bienvenue! This 2010 film from France is the latest—a pleasant farce directed by Michel Leclerc and written by him and Baya Kasmi. It won three César Awards in 2011, including for best writing. The story is about a young woman who uses sex as a weapon to persuade conservative politicians—men whom she considers "right-wing" in general—to embrace more liberal attitudes. From this comes some satirical moments, too, touching on the impermanence of supposed firmly held beliefs and the pitfalls of stereotyping ethnic and religious groups based simply on how they look or what their names are. Half-Algerian, the young woman's name is Baya Benmahmoud,and she says, "no one in France has that name." But she tackles one person too many when she confronts Arthur Martin—"15,207 people in France have the same name," he tells us—a middle-aged scientist who does necropsies on dead birds, in order to detect possible human illnesses. Why are you scaring people? she demands to know at their first confrontational meeting. The free spirit and the buttoned-up scientist are, of course, destined to fall for each other. The filmmakers show us how the two protagonists do not escape their childhoods, and we see them as children, as children commenting on their adult selves, and the fireworks when their polar opposite families, alas, meet. In his New York Times review, Stephen Holden says the movie "has the tone and structure of early-to-middle Woody Allen,but infused with a dose of Gallic identity politics." Sara Forestier is charming as the irrepressible extrovert Baya (she also snagged a César), and Jacques Gamblin is a persuasive match. A fun movie when you just want to be happily entertained (note: nudity)

The Names of Love is one of the most joyous and intelligent comedies I've seen in many years. It's playful, romantic, political, sexy, and filled with delicious performances! Sara Forestier is an absolute delight as Baya Benmahmoud, who takes the slogan "make love, not war" quite literally. She uses her intelligence and beauty to seduce bigots around her and entice them to change their ways. Jacques Gamblin is perfect as the much quieter Arthur Martin, who crosses paths with Raya and has never met anyone like her. The romance that ensues is hilarious and touching. The parents of both characters are also unforgettable characters. Poor Arthur's parents, for example, are always investing in the wrong technology: the Betamax instead of VHS, the laserdisc, a TV remote control with an extender that reaches across the room to change the channel....Rich, creative, playful in ways that remind us of the true joys possible in film!

Imagine your second name is Leclerc, which is also that of a famous hypermarket chain. Now imagine you have a friend who writes scripts whose first name is Baya, only 26 other people in France have in common with you. Nobody would spare you the question, «Leclerc, ... like the hypermarket?» while your friend couldn't escape «Baya, where does it originate from? Brazil?» whereas her roots are North African. Why not take these two peculiarities as a starting point for a romantic comedy that would deal with questions that matter to you: emigration, identity, the duty to remember, family secrets, taboos, politics?

Michel Leclerc thus becomes Arthur Martin, an Avian Flu expert, whose name immediately calls to mind a well known French cooker brand. And Baya will be Bahia Benmahmoud, an extrovert girl who makes a point of sleeping with as many right-wingers as possible to win them over to the leftist cause. And on they are for a very original, very deep film which, by trying to unite two such dissimilar people, successfully spans the history of France, from the 1930's until today . And a very funny one too (the two most irrepressible scenes being the catastrophic dinner with the in-laws and the crazy cameo of former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin). The direction is particularly inspired, creative and unconventional (the characters who address the camera, Jacques Boudet playing a student and a young soldier whereas he is in his seventies because Arthur can't imagine him young, Arthur's dialog with his dead grandparents). «Le nom des gens» has less to do with a standard French comedy than with such brilliant oddities as «Toto le Héros», «Crazy» or «Le premier jour du reste de ma vie», also with Jacques Gamblin, who is perfect here as the dull biologist slowly opening himself to real life. In the role of his wild, passionate but insecure guide on his way to love and life, Sara Forestier gives her best performance since «L'Esquive». Also to be noted are Zinedine Soualem as Bahia's sweet Algerian- born father, Carole Franck as his energetic militant wife, Jacques Boudet and Michèle Moretti as Arthur's parents. And of course Lionel Jospin, who displays a great sense of humor in his only scene. If you like inventive movies that make you both smile and think over, this one is for you.