France, 2007 – 100 min
“Love me less, but love me a long time.”
In the hope of sparking their stalled relationship, Ismael (Louis Garrel) and Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) enter a playful yet emotionally laced threesome with Alice (Clotilde Hesme). When tragedy strikes, these young Parisians are forced to deal with the fragility of life and love. For Ismael, this means negotiating through the advances of Julie’s sister (Chiara Mastroianni) and a young college student (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet), one of whom may offer him redemption.
Directed by Christophe Honoré (Ma Mère, Dans Paris), Les Chansons d’Amour is an atypical music film. Its strength does not reside in its plot – which is actually pretty average – or in the catchy songs, but in its dark tones and in the intimate, moving honesty emanating from the actors’ performances. Through singing, Garrel & Co. truly open up their characters’ hearts, more than with dialogue. The result is a nice flick you might consider watching even if you usually dislike musicals.
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