Audience Member
Ça se laisser regarder sans pour autant dégager une originalité particulière. Un drame passionnel dans le plus pur style longuet français.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/10/23
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Audience Member
I never write reviews but this movie was so hard for me to rate... the music, cinematography, setting, actors, and attention to detail were all really great, and I appreciated that the movie avoids most cliches and conventions with narrative... but what the heck, it got way too unnecessarily repetitive and the plot just fell flat, it could've been 20-30 minutes shorter. Also maybe the meaning gets lost in translation but I think the title is dumb too. The trailer had me interested because it looked artsy and didn't look like some gay romance, and I'm glad that the movie didn't end up like that but by the end I was frustrated by all the nonsense and unsatisfied.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
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Audience Member
A ratos divertida, a ratos aburrida, momentos incomprensibles, pero sobre todo muy poetica. Hay puntos con una fotografia exquicita, el ir de atras para adelante puede confundir pero no del todo. El descenlace queda muy abierto tipico de las peliculas atipicas. Muy buen guion,
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"The Man of My Life," the second film from French filmmaker / screenwriter / actress Zabou Breitman, isn't very good, but at least it's ambitious. It tries to explore new emotional territory. While it's pretty seriously flawed and sometimes laughably flat-footed and pretentious, it is the work of a genuine artist. One that is still learning her craft; but then aren't we all.
The story, which Breitman co-wrote, introduces us to a delightful, down-to-earth family vacationing in a gorgeous villa in the south of France. (The setting is exquisite, and the cinematography is ravishing. This is the true French countryside.) Moving in next door is a single gay man, whom the family befriends.
Gradually through the course of the summer, a special bond develops between the father (played very well by Bernard Campan) and the neighbor. At times they seem like two giddy boys together. Little by little, it appears that they might be falling in love. Their conversations get quite deep, exploring feelings about family, love, relationships, children, etc. And each late-night conversation leaves them oddly moved and oddly uncomfortable. So much seems to be going on just below the surface.
The film doesn't have much of a dramatic arc. It doesn't want to be a coming-out melodrama, although there is a little bit of that. It mostly wants to raise questions and explore the emotional landscape of middle-aged men feeling the ground beneath them shifting uncomfortably.
The weaknesses in "The Man of My Life" are so significant that I cannot recommend it. But at a minimum, it makes me want to try one more Breitman film to see if she pulls off her interesting experiments with more success elsewhere. (She has directed two more films since completing this one.)
It is interesting to ponder what it must be like for straight married men who start to feel their sexuality open up in middle age. From what I can tell, this is happening quite a bit lately. My heart goes out to these men as they struggle to balance loyalty to family with loyalty to their own hearts.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Interesting that this film was written and directed by a woman..has a lot of symbolism, and basically revolves around a somewhat-romantic friendship between a heterosexual married man (Frederic) and a gay single guy named Hugo who is his neighbor. The dynamics between the men, more subtle and conversational than physical, allow us to learn more than if the issue of sex was raised quickly. The romance is not about sexual attraction, but the role people play in the life of the other that bring forth emotions. This is a rich film, combining philosophy with sensuality, whimsy with beauty. As a female viewer I have to confess that it will break my heart if my husband of so many years was to fall in love with a man considering the couple in this film had a life built together with children so I have mixed feelings about the storyline, but from the film making perspective, yes it was very good and its available on Netflix for instant viewing..
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A beautifully shot and unexpectedly poetic tale of the nature of the human heart.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
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