Product Description

Two people meet via a personals ad and begin a series of physical encounters. However their continued meetings lead to a growing emotional attachment.Running Time: 78 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794043516825

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61822 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2001-01-23
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 78 minutes

Amazon.com
Nathalie Baye and Sergi López are lonely lovers who meet through an ad in a singles magazine for anonymous sex and fall in love. Frederic Fonteyne's tender portrait of a brief affair is framed in flashback: the two lovers recall their relationship for an unseen interviewer (a technique that recalls Ingmar Bergman's Hour of the Wolf and Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives), putting on a tough, scarred front that hides their regret. In the flashbacks, however, Fonteyne captures a sense of discomfort and anticipation in their first meeting that turns relaxed and passionate as their relationship deepens. Baye's nervous smiles become genuine and joyful as she grows more confident in López's company, and he nicely straddles the line between nonchalant openness and emotional defensiveness. Fonteyne's naturalistic style is broken only for the almost surreal vision of the hotel where they meet: they pass through a hellish crimson hall before entering their room, a cool blue sanctuary--a heaven on the other side of purgatory. It was released under a different name in France, an ironic title that translates to A Pornographic Affair, but the film is a sensitive, delicate portrait of fragile souls who allow self-doubts and second guesses get in the way of their own honesty. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

A memo to all couples....talk
Can two people separate sex from the warmth of human interaction?

This wonderful movie maps the development of a relationship from an original plan for uninhibited and uncomplicated sexual encounters. Clearly both come to enjoy their interactions and their encounters, yet something still holds both back from the full spectrum of an intimate relationship - is it the shadow of the original intent; a fear of commitment; or the possibility of rejection.

This movie has a great message for everyone - talk and open your heart to another person. This is an excellent movie, superbly acted and well worth purchasing.

They sure could have accumulated lots of Marriott Rewards Points!
Sex without love morphs into sex with love and then peters out into neither sex nor love. "An Affair of Love" reverses the usual chronology of attraction and affection leading to consummation. The protagonists immediately round home plate and then later experiment with touching first base, second and third. The pattern of anonymous sex in a regular private space sealed off from the world evoked to me a sense of "Last Tango in Paris," without the rough play.

Nathalie Bay and Sergei Lopez are excellent - erotically charged despite the evident age difference -- and although the plot could make you feel claustrophobic if you heard the synopsis, it never feels this way. Most all the action occurs in a street side café and in a hotel room. A steamy take on "Afternoon Delight"!

Can carnal passion offer a solid foundation for a lasting relationship? How can that connection be fueled if (when) the fires of passion cool? Will peeking behind the cloak of anonymity let the air out of the romantic balloon? Interesting questions hinted at by this adroit film!

Worth seeing!

Steams the Screen
This DVD rental was such a surprise delight. Frederic Fonteyne has directed "Gillie's Wife," but I've never focused on him as a director. The premise is fairly simple: a man and woman answer each other's personal ad. They meet strictly for sex. While I have only seen the U.S. DVD, it certainly is not "pornographic," as the French title might suggest. There is nearly no nudity in the film. The cinematic tension comes as Nathalie Baye and Sergi Lopez, who both won Best Actor awards at the Venice Film Festival for their work, steam the screen with their emotional tension and desire. Free from the encumbrances of the outside world, the couple focuses solely on each other: their needs, desires and pleasure. In this aspect, the film seems uniquely French. Both actors are celebrated in Europe. Baye won four Cesar Awards in France including "Le Petit Lieutenant" in 2006. Lopez won the Cesar for "Harry un ami qui vous veut du bien," or as it was titled in one English release "Harry, He's Here to Help." There is a beauiful cameo by Sylvie Van den Elsen as Madame Lignaux. The couple meet her as her husband runs into them at the hotel and dies of an apparent heart attack. In his dying scene, he tells them that he can't stand his wife and has left her. Van den Elsen seems self-controlled as they converse in a cafe. Later, they read of her suicide. The film speaks volumes to me about the relationship between men and women. "You can't live with them, can't live without them." Ultimately, the success or failure of relationships is facilitated or doomed by the quality and honesty of their communication on physical, intellectual and value levels. Had this been a Hollywood picture, corporate would have insisted the couple get together in the final frame. This is a picture that is well done with two stunning performances by Lopez and Baye. Bravo!