Product Description

Christophe Honoré further makes a case as one of the most exciting filmmakers of our generation with the exuberant and tender Love Songs (Les Chansons D'Amour), a modern day musical told through unforgettable songs sung entirely by the cast. In the hope of sparking their stalled relationship, Ismaël (Louis Garrel, Dans Paris, The Dreamers) and Julie (Ludivine Sagnier, Swimming Pool) enter a playful yet emotionally laced threesome with Alice (Clotilde Hesme, Regular Lovers). When tragedy strikes, these young Parisians are forced to deal with the fragility of life and love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20614 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-11-11
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Customer Reviews

Romantic, funny, sad, moving
Ismael (Louis Garrel, the Gallic version of the adorable young Hugh Grant), lives with Julie (Ludivine Sagnier). Alice (Clotilde Hesme), who works with Ismael, shares their bed and Julie's affections. On a night of tragedy, Jeanne, unawares, hooks up with Gwendal (Yannick Renier), whose teen-aged brother Erwann (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet) turns out to be the only one who can bring a shattered Ismael back to life, in the most romantic man-on-man love scene since Rupert Grave's Alec Scudder climbed through Maurice's bedroom window 20 years ago. With rain-slicked streets, coffee and cigarettes, references to a dozen French classics, a haunting score and the best balcony scene since "Romeo and Juliet," this low-budget charmer, which has become a cult favorite in France with the under-25 set, is an "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" for the 21st Century.

Lovely
It took me two viewings to warm up to this film: two love stories, one of which takes a tragic turn. The songs sounded mostly indistinguishable initially and like many French musicals, the actors were left to flounder in their movements while singing. But the depth of emotion rang increasingly true, the plot twists felt unforced and ultimately I was won over by its charm, its sweetness (without being cloying) and its sadness.

Musical Paris
"Love Songs"

Musical Paris

Amos Lassen

"Love Songs" is not your typical movie musical and is in no way traditional. It is a blend of a classical quartet with acoustic guitar and the singing is integral to the story.
Ismael (Louis Garrel) lives with his girlfriend Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) and they share their bed with Alice (Clotilde Hesme) who works with Ismael. The three walk the streets of Paris and they party and sleep together. There are occasional jealousies but by and large the three are fine together. When death suddenly strikes those who are left have to come to terms with losing someone they love and we see new relationships being formed and the youth men and women are there for each other and as their spirits return, they find that new commitments are possible.
The film is homage to love, life, death, youth, friendship, music and of course Paris. The film takes us into its arms and gives us a musical that is French to its core and it is all expressed in song. At first I felt like this was going to be a piece of fluff but it soon became charming. Replete with thirteen songs, the movie looks at sexuality which is porous and it is a story of romance cut short by tragedy and then it shows how it is possible to again find love.
The songs give us the pure and genuine emotions which are difficult to achieve by spoken word. The lyrics flow from the actors in realistic ways. This is more than a movie, it is an experience.