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AN AFFAIR OF LOVE (2000) (***1/2)

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Sometimes smaller films that I hear are good sneak past my radar. Most of the time in lieu of a disappointing Hollywood film that has been beaten into my subconscious by millions of dollars of high-profile marketing. Thank God for lots of movie channels and TiVo. But I digress.

This French film is the most erotic picture I’ve seen since I first watched Luis Buñuel’s masterpiece BELLE DE JOUR. It reminded me of that film a lot, which hurt the impact at first, but once AFFAIR moves into territory that BELLE does not it takes on a true emotional poignancy.

AN AFFAIR OF LOVE is the American title and it’s really not a great one. The French title is A PORNOGRAPHIC AFFAIR, which is more fitting, yet gives a completely wrong impression about the film. The story is about sex, but it is not pornographic is the least. It is, however, quite erotic, which is a word that is wrongly used in terms of porn in America. Porn is all about mechanics; eroticism is about the mind, which plays a far bigger role in sexual intercourse then most people are comfortable with.

We never learn the names of the two lead characters and neither do they. “Her” (Nathalie Baye, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN) is a woman in her forties — still sexy — who has a deep-rooted fantasy for which she has long believed would never be fulfilled. She puts an ad in a sex magazine looking to see if someone else shares the same desire, finally finding “Him” (Sergi Lopez, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS), who is about ten years younger than she. They meet and off they go to a hotel room to live out their fantasy.

We know right from the start that they are not still together because an unseen interviewer is asking them questions about the affair, which they recall with sometimes inconsistent versions of the tale. What is left unknown is the fantasy. What is erotic to one person may be repulsive to another, so the film wisely keeps that private. The film is sexier for it, because we find ourselves filling in the blanks with our own kinky thoughts.

As I said above, eroticism is mainly in the mind, which is an idea this film captures perfectly. As time goes by, the real lives of “Her” and “Him” start to work their way into their affair. Knowing the relationship ends, we sadly watch as the fantasy that brought these two characters together, eventually pulls them apart.

Baye and Lopez are subtle and honest with their performances. Like INTIMATE STRANGERS, this film reminded me that a person can be quite sexy even if they don’t look like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. That’s something European filmmakers understand that the Hollywood pseudo-romance makers just doesn’t get.

Director Frédéric Fonteyne (GILLES’ WIFE) evokes the perfect tone with his visuals. The hot color of the hotel hall is sexy while the cool blue of the hotel room feels intimate, yet a bit sad. It’s the perfect heightened setting for a fantasy affair. Writer Philippe Blasband (GILLES’ WIFE) has an adroit ear for dialogue. The interviews feel like a cheat to get into the minds of the characters, but they provide an interesting reflective point of view. Even subtle choices in costume and hair say a lot about how the characters have changed from the start the affair to the present. If you’re looking for an erotic love story for adults, you should look no further than this moving film.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks