J’ai horreur de l’amour (1997) - film review

Annie, a 30-something divorcee, is a doctor with her own medical practice in Paris.  One summer, her working days feel as empty and uneventful as her love life – until two men enter her surgery and her life.  The first is Laurent, a former drug addict who has just been diagnosed as HIV positive and who rejects the treatment offered him.  Then there is Richard, a vain actor whom Annie met at a dinner party and who suffers from extreme hypochondria.  After a brief amorous turn, Richard becomes convinced that he has contracted AIDS from Annie and is determined to make her pay....

From its opening credits, in which the elfin Jeanne Balibar cruises around Paris astride a moped, accompanied by a song from the legendary Joe Dassin, you cannot help being seduced by this film.  As its provocative suggests, J’ai horreur de l’amour is a far from unconventional film, yet it is one which offers a curiously realistic portrayal of love and human relationships in the post-AIDS era.   Truthful and funny, this is the kind of sophisticated yet accessible film which devotees of French cinema generally adore.

The film was written and directed by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa, whose distinctive style (redolent of François Truffaut’s later films) shows both maturity and great insight into human behaviour.  In contrast to many of her auteur contemporaries, Barbosa places far greater emphasis on characterisation and plotting than visual presentation.  As a result, her work carries intellectual weight and has a sincerity which makes it strangely compelling.  Her films generally have an intensely dark side, which is bizarrely offset by an almost surreal streak of black comedy.   J’ai horreur de l’amour conforms to this pattern and is arguably Barbosa’s most significant work to date – a modern moral tale which is both relevant to a contemporary audience and hugely entertaining.

Barbosa’s exceptional talents are at least matched by those of her impressive lead actors.   Jeanne Balibar, who was relatively unknown at the time, appears to be perfectly suited to this kind of quirky comedy-drama and is an inspired choice for the part of Annie.  No wonder that she is now one of France’s most sought-after actresses.   Jean-Quentin Châtelain is both disturbing and hilarious as Annie’s deranged tormenter, his character’s dual personality almost parodying the film’s schizoid nature.  By contrast, Laurent Lucas’ portrayal of a HIV positive heterosexual man is far more sympathetic and believable, giving the film great emotional depth and humanity, whilst avoiding obvious stereotyping.  These three actors make up the apexes of an unusual and very subtle love triangle, each character oddly counterbalancing the others as he or she tries to cope with whatever cards Fate chooses to deal.

Films which muddle the genres to the extent that this one does are rarely entirely satisfying and are often quickly forgotten.  J’ai horreur de l’amour is a notable exception, partly because it is so unusual and daring, but mainly because it takes its subject seriously and has great fun along the way.  Life is cruel, unpredictable and often downright nasty – but that doesn’t stop us having a post-modern ironic laugh once in a while.

© James Travers 2004

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