Les Chansons d'amour - Love Songs

I have never been a purveyor of foreign films.  Back in my home town, we would be lucky have any kind of independent film show at the theater, let alone a foreign flick.  That being said, when I saw Les Chansons d'amour, or Love Songs, I was not sure what to expect.  I was told that the style would be akin to a romantic musical, like High School Musical in France, but I was concerned if reading the subtitles for the music would ruin the experience.  Luckily for me, this was not the case.  Though at first it took me a few minutes to acclimate to reading subtitles to understand the words, I quickly could sense what was happening in the motions and attitudes of the actors.

The story centers around a trio of lovers in Paris, and the effect the death of one of them has on the others.  Ismaël, Julie, and Alice are in a threesome together, though Ismaël only wants Julie to be with him.  Alice is the force that holds the two together and helps them reconcile their differences, and that role is reflected in the poster for the film above.  She holds their hands in her own, making them touch each other and recognize how they care about one another.   The beginning of the story is very light and cheery, and the songs have the same optimism and playfulness between the sparring couple and Alice trying to bring them to reconcile with each other.

Yet, the lighthearted banter between the three stops when tragedy strikes and Julie suddenly dies from cardiac arrest.  The rest of the movie follows Ismaël's struggle to cope with the loss of his love and move on with Erwann, the younger brother of Alice's new boyfriend.  After much resistance, Ismaël finally gives in to Erwann's desire to love and care for him.

The artistic style of the movie was quite minimalistic.  There were no special effects or expensive sets, and rightly so.  The romance depicted is supposed to be a realistic one with the songs acting as poetic interludes and explanations, a way to enliven and enrich the story.  That being said, the cinematography is good, particularly during the songs.  I noticed little artistic details that made all the difference, such as Ismaël and Julie seeming to always be in opposite colors (when he wears black, she wears white; his hair is black, hers is blonde, etc.).  In the end, I enjoyed the movie and think it is a fine piece of Visual Culture.