charliegosh Interesting slant.He's half Jewish, half French, has a terribly common name that belies his heritage.She's half Arabic, half French, has a very unique name that belies her heritage.Neither recognizes their foreign culture or religion; both identify heavily with French politics and culture. He is not seen as Jewish, she is not seen as Arabic, so they fit easily into French society, yet both had grandparents who were treated very badly by French authorities.He is twice her age and refuses her initial advances. She's excited by the prospect of becoming a Jewish/Arab couple, noting that this could only happen in France (thus making them very French).Their parents are deeply entrenched on opposite sides of the political spectrum. His French father spent his career in nuclear power while his mother was taught to deny her Jewish heritage. Her French mother is a staunch left-wing activist and her father is an Algerian-born people-pleaser. Their first dinner party together with at first two, then all three couples is true dark comedy.

dbairdk The Names of Love is one of the most joyous and intelligent comedies I've seen in many years. It's playful, romantic, political, sexy, and filled with delicious performances! Sara Forestier is an absolute delight as Baya Benmahmoud, who takes the slogan "make love, not war" quite literally. She uses her intelligence and beauty to seduce bigots around her and entice them to change their ways. Jacques Gamblin is perfect as the much quieter Arthur Martin, who crosses paths with Raya and has never met anyone like her. The romance that ensues is hilarious and touching. The parents of both characters are also unforgettable characters. Poor Arthur's parents, for example, are always investing in the wrong technology: the Betamax instead of VHS, the laserdisc, a TV remote control with an extender that reaches across the room to change the channel....Rich, creative, playful in ways that remind us of the true joys possible in film!

bezoar211 (Minor spoilers.) The premise of this movie is a romance between a self-proclaimed left-wing "political whore" and a (left-leaning, but not overtly political) veterinarian. Both are the children of a native French citizen and a member of a historically maligned group (Baya is half-Algerian, Arthur half-Jewish). But instead of engaging in some awful, weepy remembrance tearjerker, this movie gives its audience some credit and handles the expected poignance with humor and aplomb. Yes, the characters have secrets and conflicts which they've circumvented throughout their lives, but the specifics are irrelevant and--appropriately--elided. Rather, this is an attempt to examine how people deal with their heritage and personal lives while trying to reconcile their reactions with their beliefs--and what they feel their beliefs _ought_ to be.Moreover, while the full complexity of the characters' struggles is shown, it is always with a subtlety that keeps the movie grounded. The conversion of ancestral suffering into a cachet, to be readily exploited for the social needs of youth; the feelings of inadequacy in the presence of our parents, whose enormous ordeals seem to render our own difficulties trivial; the mental prisons we build for ourselves in order to establish emotional security; all of these intricate webs of social determinants and individual aspirations are depicted with just the right balance of sympathy and objectivity.So there is actual substance here. But what is truly remarkable is that Leclerc's use of po-mo tropes (like protagonists directly addressing the camera or characters interacting with their former selves) never feels stilted or laborious, and in fact entails a seamless fusion of form and content.

joblues7 A very good friend and I saw this film at the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival. We both thought that it was hilarious and charming. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film, the theater was resounding with loud bursts of laughter from the audience. That continued throughout the course of the film. Frequently, French "comedies" can be very intelligent, enjoyable and well worth seeing. But they are rarely, (at least since the days of Jacques Tati') "laugh out loud" funny. I am very frustrated by the fact that (at least to my knowledge) there has not been a major release of this film in the movie theaters in the Los Angeles area. I would love to be able to share this delightful film with family and friends! I have been able to locate very few reviews of the film by media film critics. While virtually all of these reviews have been very positive, some have tended to pigeon-hole the film as being a satire of some of the more esoteric components of French culture and society, and therefore not likely to be of interest to film-goers who are not especially knowledgeable or interested in a comedy focused on such a theme.This could not be further from the truth! The reality is that the film works wonderfully on its own terms, and that to thoroughly enjoy it one need not be particularly conversant in the intricacies or peculiarities of French culture. I am praying that, at the very least, the film is released in a home video format with English language subtitles. Then, at least, purveyors of fine foreign films would get the opportunity to see and enjoy it.! And I would not be deprived of the vast pleasure of sharing it with friends who enjoy high quality films!Update: Very good news! Subsequent to the writing of this review, both the Sunday LA Times and the Sunday New York Times published special editions of their summer movie "sneaks" ie films to be released this summer-and both indicated that "The Names of Love" would be playing in theaters commencing around the end of June/beginning of July. Don't miss it!