Film Review
Zabou Breitman's second feature as a director may not have the searing
emotional intensity of her first,
Se souvenir des belles choses
(2001), but it is nonetheless a beautifully composed piece that offers
a thoughtful meditation on life, love and desire. In keeping with
the central theme of her film, Breitman eschews the formal linear
approach for one that is more free-flowing and abstract, a stylisation
that can best be described as impressionistic. The loosely
structured elliptical narrative flitters between reality and
imagination, alternating between a sunny portrait of family life in a
lush provençal setting and sombre moments of conflict and
reflection that are shot virtually in monochrome. It is the
stark visual poetry of this film that gives it its coherence and
emotional resonance, subtly conveying something of the exquisite pain
and pleasure of love without going anywhere near the usual devices of
melodrama.
The title
L'Homme de sa vie
turns out to be highly ironic, playing on the ambiguity of the word
sa, meaning
his or
her. The man in question is
both the dutiful husband, Frédéric, and the gay
interloper, Hugo. These two characters (who are played to
perfection by Bernard Campan and Charles Berling) have diametrically
opposed philosophies over what constitutes a happy life.
Frédéric is of the view that marriage is the ideal, but
Hugo is equally convinced that man is born to be free and can never be
happy in the marital straitjacket. Frédéric turns
out not to be as strait-laced (or even straight) as he first appears -
the fact that his wife is named Frédérique is perhaps a
pointer to his sexual ambiguity - and likewise Hugo has more to him
than meets the eye.
Although Frédéric and Hugo initially appear to be polar
opposites, they soon strike up a friendship, and an intimacy develops
which turns into an intense bond of love. As this happens,
Frédéric begins to lose interest in his wife, who
instinctively senses that her marriage is beginning to fall
apart. Meanwhile, Hugo has problems of his own and must decide
whether he should go to the deathbed of his father, the father who
brutally disowned him when he revealed he was gay. With immense
sensitivity and compassion, Zabou Breitman paints a remarkably
authentic portrait of male fragility, showing us a side to masculinity
which is very rarely seen in the cinema. Even in these enlightened
days, the vast majority of films tend to portray the male sex as
invulnerable and emotionally underdeveloped, probably because most
films are directed by men and this is how men wish to be seen.
L'Homme de sa vie is a
beguiling and refreshingly up-front film about
the complexities of human desire and human relationships,
but it is also strangely elusive. It is like a
dream that overwhelms you completely and yet, when you try to
understand, it proves as resistant to interpretation as a tannoy
announcement on the London Underground. Being a fairly abstract
piece, it is possible to read into it almost what you wish, and that is
certainly part of its charm. Breitman asks a question - who
is happier: the married man or the carefree bachelor? - but the answer
we get is ambiguous. We see Frédéric and
Frédérique stuck in a passionless marriage, but with the
consolation afforded by parenthood. We see Hugo, free as a bird,
but condemned to a life of one-night stands and suppers for one.
Life is never perfect. There is no happy ever after. Just
moments of joy and sadness, whichever path you tread.
© James Travers 2010
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Next Zabou Breitman film:
Je l'aimais (2009)
Film Synopsis
Frédéric is an ordinary looking man in his forties who
is perfectly settled with his wife Frédérique. Every
year, they spend their summer holidays in the company of their friends and
family at their large country house in Drôme in the southeast of France.
It is the ideal occasion to relax and take stock of their lives. One
evening, the couple invite a neighbour, Hugo, to dine with them. Hugo
does nothing to hide the fact he is gay, and he seems to derive some pleasure
from his hosts' unease with his overt sexuality.
Frédéric is the one who is most fascinated by this new acquaintance,
and as the others depart they continue their conversation well into the night.
They talk about love, life and relationships, with an intimacy that suggests
they have known each other for years. Over the next few days, Frédérique
notices a sudden change in her husband's behaviour. It seems that they
are drifting slowly apart, just as Frédéric and Hugo are becoming
ever closer. Is it possible that Frédéric is beginning
to fall in love - with a man...?
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.