Love Songs

Christophe Honore's Love Songs is an unusual film. Like many foreign films, it depicts themes of love and intimacy. Yet at the same time, it doesn't seem interested in those themes at all.

Love Songs stars Louis Garrel, more familiar from his work in The Dreamers, as Ismael. The film chronicles Ismael's life, both personal and romantic, and both prove to be laced with problems, a number of them he's responsible for.

The film portrays itself as neither a love story nor a character analysis. It's more of a portrait of everyday life. Honore avoids every dramatic cliche most other films have worn out. (Well, except a few perhaps.) He wants something different.

One such cliche is Honore throws away is that Paris can entice passionate feelings amongst anyone that goes there. He instead treats the City of Lights as just an average city. He's not here for the romance; he wants realism.

All in all, Love Songs is an unique film. It's far from most foreign films in recent years, that's for sure. Rather than sex, it relies on the characters. Don't see that very often, foreign or otherwise.

My Rating: ****1/2