Rating: 
Summary: Tower of Love
Review: "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.
Rating: 
Summary: The mystery of love
Review: "An Affair of Love" was a fabulous film. It was a film about the nature of love and sex and what happens when the two get intertwined. It was a quintessentially French film, since only the French could treat eroticism with such grace. It was a film that showed the connection between two people in a rather realistic, slice of life manner. While exploring the inexplicable forces behind sexual relationships, the film continued to arouse your curiosity and even kept you wondering and thinking long afterwards--indeed, the best kind of movie!
Not only did the movie treat a compelling subject accompanied by sympathetic characters, but the imagery was equally as magical. The cinematography was amazing--certain shots were framed like a work of art and the views of the crimson hotel passageway burns in my mind (as does a particular scene that employed the use of a simple white sheet quite artfully).
"An Affair of Love" was beautiful to see. It was beautiful to watch, as well, since it maintained a mystery throughout and seemed to capture the nuances of exchange between two people in a startingly true to life fashion. Indeed, love and sex are mysterious forces.
Rating:
Summary: The complexity of relationships.
Review: "An Affair of Love" is the sort of film that should be required viewing for film-makers as the film is proof that it's possible to make a great film with a tiny cast--no car chases, no explosions, no plot devices--just a story with characters that keep the viewer glued to the screen. Nathalie Baye is the nameless woman who posts an advertisement for a specific fantasy in a magazine, and Sergi Lopez is the nameless man who responds. They meet in a cafe and arrange weekly encounters in a hotel. The deal is that they won't discuss their private lives, careers, or give last names. It should be simple--right? The film--which is conducted in an interview format by an invisible interviewer--is presented in a sort of "he said/she said" style. There are some discrepancies in their versions of events, and there are some things that they both refuse to discuss. The interviewer asks crucial questions, and through the answers the story of their affair unfolds through flashbacks. The very best parts, are of course, those they never reveal to each other, and in the end, one marvels that relationships anywhere last at all. In spite of the fact that we know hardly anything about these characters, they are not one dimensional--they are simply fascinating. Sergi Lopez is very believable as the man who is only comfortable with the well-defined relationship, and Nathalie Baye (who reminds me a bit of Helen Mirren), is marvellous as the confident, self-possessed woman who doesn't question her motives or her needs. If you are a fan of French cinema, then I recommend this film--there is some nudity and it's not for the kiddies--displacedhuman
Rating:
Summary: The mystery of love
Review: "An Affair of Love" was a fabulous film. It was a film about the nature of love and sex and what happens when the two get intertwined. It was a quintessentially French film, since only the French could treat eroticism with such grace. It was a film that showed the connection between two people in a rather realistic, slice of life manner. While exploring the inexplicable forces behind sexual relationships, the film continued to arouse your curiosity and even kept you wondering and thinking long afterwards--indeed, the best kind of movie!
Not only did the movie treat a compelling subject accompanied by sympathetic characters, but the imagery was equally as magical. The cinematography was amazing--certain shots were framed like a work of art and the views of the crimson hotel passageway burns in my mind (as does a particular scene that employed the use of a simple white sheet quite artfully).
"An Affair of Love" was beautiful to see. It was beautiful to watch, as well, since it maintained a mystery throughout and seemed to capture the nuances of exchange between two people in a startingly true to life fashion. Indeed, love and sex are mysterious forces.
Rating:
Summary: An Adult film of love and misunderstanding
Review: A man and a woman meet - perhaps through an ad, perhaps on the internet - and set aside some time weekly to indulge in a *fantasy*. They keep it completely impersonal by not disclosing names nor personal details, concentrating merely on the "affaire pornographique". Unfortunately for them, fate has another way of determining what direction this rendezvous is heading. From their first cafe meeting, there is a spark between the two, a connection that they both felt but were equally adept at concealing until it was too late. Without disclosing too much of the plot, suffice to say that true love wins and loses at the end. Yes, they indulge their mutual fantasy and even foray into the world of one-on-one fantasy-esque sex, but is this enough for a relationship to be formed? Will they both want the same thing at the same thing and take a step forward in admitting this to each other? And the rest is silence.
Rating:
Summary: A different kind of love story!!!
Review: An Affair of Love is a strange tale to say the least, but a strikingly fascinating one. The always wonderful Spanish actor Sergei Lopez (With a Friend Like Harry) and the beautiful Nathalie Bay (Catch Me if You Can), star as two unnamed strangers who meet weekly to fulfill their fantasy for "a pornographic affair".
The film has all the elements that attract the intellectual European movie goer, and all that is rejected by the typical American viewer. It is a love story with only two characters, and almost everything happens in just two locations (a restaurant and a hotel room). The drama is based on character development, rather than cheesy dialogue, and the eroticism is all but explicit. It is a love story, but it departs from the usual romantic comedy pattern and escapes the cheap predictable happy ending that spoils many American movies. In the end, we are left with a simple story of un-realized love that is intense, beautiful, and poetic. This is a wonderful film, recommended to anyone who dares to try something different. This is one affair worth diving into. B+
Rating:
Summary: Certainly to see
Review: Definatly to watch but the audience needs to be mature to follow... had the experience to watch it at the movies with younger (19-20 years old) and things were not perceive the same way... So for mature audience, go for it!
Rating:
Summary: Not just another tango in Paris
Review: Frederic Fonteyne's Une Liason Pornographique, ridiculously retitled An Affair of Love in the US to satisfy the US censors, falls into the category of much better-than-it-sounds. Nathalie Baye and Sergi Lopez are the anonymous couple who meet through a contacts magazine to engage in an unnamed sexual fantasy and who decide to make a regular thing of it. Naturally they end up falling in love and destroying their relationship at the very moment when it seems that it has a future.
That what could have been yet another Tango in Paris actually works is down to the strength of the performances - refreshingly, not once does Lopez resort to some of his more overused mannerism - and the fact that both characters prove somewhat unreliable narrators in Phillippe Blasband's script. Not much sex, virtually no nudity, but some moments of truth in a concise and involving movie.
Rating:
Summary: a tragedy of misunderstanding
Review: I found this movie a sad recreation of the Romeo & Juliet plot that proves once again you should speak your own mind and not try to read someone else's when emotions are involved. I didn't consider it 'pornographic' as it's french title suggested,just very sad, but extremely typical of what life is all about. I'm very glad I own it and have watched it several times.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional movie
Review: I have a fondness for foreign films. They have a way of treating a subject matter in such a different way at times. This movie was no different. It has an innocence and viewpoint that had it been an American film, would have been entirely different. Also the age of the actors is refreshing that they are not in their 20s. These are mature adults. This is something I like in foreign films. Here in the US, youth dominates the movies scene. You almost forget there is life after 30. This movie is done as an interview after the fact and through flashbacks. It is about a man and a woman that meet anonymously through an ad in a magazine. The woman had placed an ad, in order to fulfill a fantasy. They meet over several months and over time a relationship develops.
Through this interview, you begin to realize that they have developed a certain regard for one another, but the oddity of their relationship and never even sharing their names puts a certain restriction on their taking the relationship farther.
However, through a shared tragedy, they realize their feelings are not so easily ignored. The actors are perfect in this story. The one scene with the two in bed where they opt for "normal sex" is so innocent, that you forget these are two strangers who have met for sex at that time for over 6 months. It is touching and cute in a way. As odd as the premise is, this story is about relationships and how life can complicate our illusions. Some times what can never be; holds more promise than what is. A very unique and compelling movie.
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