Ladymol's Review

I feel so guilty. This should be the perfect gay movie: romantic, funny, strong plot, great acting. It left me quite unmoved. It seemed a complete muddle to me, what it was trying to say.

Martin is gay and dying of AIDS. He falls for a work colleague, the local lifesaver at a pool, Lucas. The only trouble is, Lucas is straight. However, Martin works his charms on him, gets him to leave his girlfriend, move in with him, marry him and nurse him through the end of AIDS.

Wow, you must be thinking, this Martin must be utterly gorgeous. Or if he’s not, he must be the sweetest most irresistible guy in the world.  Well, no, he’s probably the most irritating character I’ve ever watched in a movie. He’s the sort of the guy that thinks it’s funny to fill a public pool with fish, or surface under people learning to swim and scare them half to death—but it’s okay, she was a fat woman, so she can be a figure of fun. After all, Martin has AIDS and every allowance must be made for him. He can ruin people’s lives but it’s okay, he’s got AIDS. I’ve never seen AIDS used in a movie before to blackmail someone into sleeping with them out of guilt. But it was in this one. Oh, but they don’t make Martin actually look as if he’s got AIDS, that would kinda hard to fit in with the premise that a straight guy would fall in love with him. So the whole premise that Lucas would fall for him is just ludicrous. Acting up and being dumb isn’t funny, even if you’ve got AIDS.

Think Norman Wisdom on a bad day and you’ve got Martin summed up.

I’m really quite angry about this movie, because it has so much to offer. It could have been very moving. The other actor who plays Lucas gives a quite amazing performance. It can’t be easy trying to be convincing as a totally straight guy at the beginning of the film to a gay husband at the end, but he does it very credibly. He’s never over the top and very honest in his genuine confusion at his own movies.

So, you might adore this movie. Maybe it’s just me and this damn character Martin. I mean, even his out of tune whistling drove me crazy. Sheesh, he was even whistling in heaven. Shudder.

Cerisaye's Review

(L’Homme que Je L’aime)

This is a delightful bittersweet romantic comedy that celebrates love as the true meaning and purpose of life.  It has convincing performances from the young actors playing the central parts, and strong support from female characters.  Wonderful settings in and around Marseilles, warm sunshine and bright colours, make the film a visual treat.  Its message, ‘We’re all the same but some are gayer than others’, is affirmative, though there’s poignancy and sadness too so have your hanky ready.

Martin gets a job at a municipal swimming pool where he meets a cute blond lifeguard called Lucas.  Instantly attracted to Lucas, he doesn’t waste time before making advances. Martin is gay, in both senses of the word, exuberant, charming and playful, good fun.  He annoyed me at first but he won me over.  Lucas is quiet and subdued, focused on perfecting his diving technique through extra hours at the pool.  He has a fiancée, Lise, but doesn’t look happy.  He’s threatened by Martin, openly hostile to the idea a man can be attracted to another man.  His body language is tight and he’s emotionally closed off.  But Martin doesn’t take no for an answer.  Does he recognise something about Lucas he doesn’t know himself? 

Lucas isn’t entirely honest.  Lise is more serious about their relationship; he’s going through the motions with a partnership more friendship than love.  His troubled confusion as he realises his feelings for Martin are stronger than for Lise is handled beautifully.  It’s lovely to see how Martin brings Lucas out, animates him, though he has a serious side, and more reason than most to favour carpe diem. 

This is a film that doesn’t feel the necessity to fill every scene with words.  The gay man seducing the straight guy scenario could’ve been clichéd or unbelievable, but it works here.  We watch Lucas acknowledge his desire, moments where he touches his own body the way he longs to caress Martin, awkward attempts to make love with Lise when we know who he really wants.

Martin is a sympathetic character, despite being a home-wrecker, though I felt sorry for poor Lise.  He won’t allow Lucas to waste his life.  We don’t know if Lucas is gay or just loves Martin, and it doesn’t matter.  Lucas isn’t ever going to be the same again.  His relationship with his doctor father is distant and strained, pointedly contrasts with Martin and his colourful mother, Rose, fiercely protective like a lioness with her cub. 

The film doesn’t join all the dots.  Is it coincidence that Martin already knew Lucas’ father?  Did he get the job at the pool in order to seduce Lucas?  There isn’t much sex or nudity but Martin & Lucas make a believable couple, increasingly intimate and affectionate, though Lucas is realistically uncomfortable in public, at a gay bar for example.  I don’t want to give away too much so there’s a lot I can’t say about the story.  But I really enjoyed the movie and cried at their wedding ceremony like Rose. 

Yet again we see attraction has nothing to do with gender or labels of sexual identity.  Love is something rare and special, and life too short to waste opportunities for happiness.  Yes, love makes Martin & Lucas vulnerable but just seeing them together we know it’s worth it.  Highly recommended.  (French with English subtitles)