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| Directed by Frédéric Fonteyne; Starring Starring Nathalie Baye, Sergi Lopez, Jacques Viala, Paul Pavel, Sylvie Van Den Elsen, Pierre Géranio, Hervé Sogne, and Christophe Sermet |
“It was a pornographic affair — that’s it, a purely and expressly pornographic affair. That’s pornography: it’s sex, nothing but sex, only sex. We were there just for the sex. Well, a special kind of sex.”
Frédéric Fonteyne’s film An Affair of Love (Une Liaison Pornographique) is about so much more that simply an affair — every facet of its appeal is in the characters and the emotions that plague them as they live through an affair.
Elle (Baye) is a relatively successful, Frenchwoman. All her life she has had fantasies, sexual fantasies that could be carried out. Some of them have come to life — others have not. When one fantasy finally sparks her undeniable interest, she places an ad in a sex magazine. A few days later, she makes contact with Lui (Lopez) in a café and the two slip off to a nearby hotel room.
What happens in the room is not our business, neither is the fantasy. Afterwards, they agree to meet again the next Tuesday, which soon becomes a weekly and biweekly arrangement. But, of course, only one thing can come from people being so intimate for so long and the two begin to have something that might be considered a normal relationship. One afternoon, they agree to do more than a simply tryst and have real sexual intercourse. Only then are we present to see what is going on inside the hotel room.
Like Kenneth Lonergan’s recent You Can Count on Me, An Affair of Love is much more about the people than the events. Following characters that are more realistic than Hollywood could ever create, Fonteyne’s film is an exquisite look at the sociology of sex partners. Neither of these individuals know anything about each other — Elle and Lui are merely the names that we are given in the closing credits, having never heard them shared between the two (somewhat reminiscent of the six speaking characters in Neil LaBute’s Your Friends & Neighbors).
From a screenplay by Phillippe Blasband, An Affair of Love is a beautiful story of adults dealing with the troubles that a relationship can stem, even when it’s initial intent is for mere pleasure. It is definitely French, their style often sooths off the screen unlike any other country’s productions. So often, American films talk below the intellect of the audience, but French films usually remain intellectually stimulating — rarely ever talking up to the audience (with the exception of films like Little Indian, Big City, and Les Visiteurs).
Nathalie Baye and Sergi Lopez are remarkable actors, giving their all in roles that could have easily been lost in one-dimensional, quirky characters. Baye, who has an elegance that so many middle aged European actresses have especially the stunning Isabelle Huppert, could have made the part another sex-starved woman, a prostitute without the money, but the humanity that she puts in the character as the film continues is so near reality that it can only leave you in awe. Lopez does a fine job, doing just enough to keep from being completely overshadowed by Baye.
The film is never boring, never repetitive, and never cloying. The only problem is in the narrative, which is a mistaken use of documentary filmmaking. But it stands unmistakably beautiful nevertheless. An Affair of Love is one of the finest imports of 2000, giving a gracious look at life, regardless of language.
