Comme les autres is a French film comedy-drama first released in 2008, directed by Vincent Garenq.  The film stars Lambert Wilson, Pilar López de Ayala, Pascal Elbé, Anne Brochet and Andrée Damant.  It has also been released under the title: Baby Love.  Our overall rating for this film is: very good.


Emmanuel has everything a man could want. A good job, a nice apartment and a steady relationship with the man of his dreams, Philippe. But there is one thing that Emmanuel is missing in his life. He wants to become a father. Philippe is opposed to the idea and reminds his partner that gay couples are not allowed to adopt in France. Undeterred, Emmanuel is determined to realise his dream, even though he may lose Philippe along the way...

Things have certainly moved on since La Cage aux folles (1978) and its ghastly stereotyping as gays as outrageous mincing queens with a penchant for cross-dressing.  Homosexual relationships are no longer the subject of ridicule or farce but an accepted part of our social norm.  French cinema, which is traditionally conservative (i.e. bigoted) in its depiction of minorities, looks as if has finally embraced this fact.  In this engaging first film, director Vincent Garenq draws no distinction between gay and straight relationships and makes an effective assault on the discriminatory French law which still prevents gay couples from adopting children.

Comme les autres is a film that negotiates a landscape that is mined with cliché, controversy and political correctness of the worst kind.  That it emerges pretty well unscathed is testament to Vincent Garenq’s skill as a writer and director, and also to the authenticity which the leads (Lambert Wilson, Pilar López de Ayala and Pascal Elbé) bring to their performances.   Wilson is particularly convincing as the professional gay man who is torn between a perfectly natural desire to rear a child and his need to sustain a loving relationship with his long-term partner.  The characters are all realistically drawn and whilst several strands of the plot appear to have been recycled from TV soap operas, the film compels us to sympathise with the plight of its protagonists.

Although there is plenty of humour along the way to lighten the mood, there are also just as many moments of emotional intensity, reminding us that the film is depicting a serious real-life issue, one that impacts on many thousands of gay couples around the world today.  Comme les autres treats a sensitive subject with compassion, maturity and genuine feeling and is as entertaining as it is thought provoking.

© filmsdefrance.com 2010

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