The Man I Love
by Stéphane Giusti
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Jacques Hansen, Jean-Michel Portal, Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, Mathilde Seigner, Vittoria ScognamiglioDirector: Stéphane Giusti
Writer: Stéphane Giusti
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-11-11
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Picture This
Movie Reviews of The Man I Love
Movie Review: DARLING, JE VOUS AIME BEAUCOUP......('Nat' wasn't French---but he says/sings it 5 Stars
CHAPTER I----Wherein we are introduced to a wondrous and heart-lifting love, a love being given us........
....by the French, who have long been renowned as masters of old-fashioned, romantic film-making, usually involving man and woman. But 'usually' is not the case here, because what they instead bestow upon us is a tale of a 'different kind of love'----one that is showcased in a marvelous, but largely unheralded, 1997 film entitled: "The Man I Love." Surprisingly made for French TV, this is an Aids-related story of gay love being found while at the same time being lost. It literally "vibrates" with a style that's been pretty much unique to the French. Unique, that is, until the more recent arrival of such gay-themed, American-produced titles as "All Over the Guy" and, newer still, "Latter Days" and "Brokeback Mountain." In these productions, US filmmakers at last approach the French in 'realistically' depicting gay love.....and by 'love' I mean a couple's not only making a total commitment to one another but doing so openly (except for "Brokeback"). Embarrassingly, up until around the year, 2000, American-based directors and their lead male couples never quite appeared to be completely and truly comfortable and at ease in the gay love they were attempting to put across on the screen. But it is just such a high level of comfort and ease which was earlier captured in "The Man I Love," a motion picture in which you can actually visualize love emerging and growing.....something that would seem impossible to capture on film.
Meet now the two male leads with whom we have been gifted:
--MARCIAL DI FONZO BO, as 'Martin'---an Aids victim not yet giving up on life or finding love, who instantly recognizes that love the moment he sees a blond-god of a man appear, in of all places, on the front edge of a high-dive board. 'Martin' until then had nothing to continue living for, but with this new love in his life, the impending loss he faces becomes emotionally catastrophic......for us as well. How this story prepares him for that coming loss, and how we are allowed to watch his setting up a legacy which will buoy his new lover when the loss does occur, is a touching and heart stirring tale.
--Most notably, though, we are presented the beautiful JEAN-MICHEL PORTAL, as blond 'Lucas' (that man on the board), in an uncanny characterization of one who, till now, has known only heterosexual love. Yet in this story he finds himself being faced with emotions of an entirely different nature.....emotions which he invites us in to watch as they "take him over." It is Portal's striking performance which allows the audience to actually see the growth and realization of this new, this different kind of love. Through his eyes, his facial expressions, and his body language, he does, indeed, present a love emerging (even though initially resisted) and growing. He begins his journey by almost reluctantly "giving up" his female lover/companion, as he commences "relating" more and more to 'Martin'. The movie viewer can virtually see his internal feelings for M. developing and "happening"......it's an experience akin to watching the "speeded-up-on-film" opening of a bud to blossom. Another way of saying this is, if you've heard the old expression about a person's "being bought out of their shell," then, here, with Portal's performance you can actually see someone undergoing such a transformation.
CHAPTER II----Wherein we are delightedly introduced to a Michelin Guide's Mother of all Mothers........
....and the French do even this best. Actress, Vittoria Scognamiglio's 'Rose' is a 3-Star wonder to behold. She is every gay boy's "dream-delight" of a parent; a someone who even rid herself of a homophobic husband so that 'Martin' could grow to be who he should be.......happily and without fear. There's no one 'Me're Rose' would not take on who might stand in the way of her beloved son's full enjoyment of his time left.
EPILOG / EPILOGUE----Wherein we bid a fond farewell to........
....our two terrific leading men: "Salut, Martin! // Salut, Lucas! Thank you for sharing your wonderful journey."
PS--This is, without doubt, an unusual film experience, and as one earlier reviewer said: "Repeated viewings only seem to make the story more meaningful." Now, please let me add: do not hesitate in obtaining it for your personal collection.
****
Summary of The Man I Love
What gay man hasn?t sat beside a pool and dreamed of declaring his love to a beautiful straight boy whose Speedo fits just right? How many of us have dared to hope that we might actually get to peel the swimsuit away, or that our love might even be returned? Well, for the irrepressible Martin, just dreaming and hoping are no longer enough. Martin falls for the straight Lucas the moment he sees him leap from the high dive, and decides to take a leap of his own. Within minutes he declares his love to Lucas, who is less than thrilled. No one is more surprised than Martin, then when his seemingly hopeless infatuation ends up bringing him friendship, passion and even true love. The only problem is that, for Martin, it all may have come too late. This tender story of two lovers who find the meaning of life just as one of them is preparing to leave it will both warm your heart and break it, and have you smiling through your tears. Throw in a mother who roars around town in a pink Mercedes with outfits to match, AIDS activists fighting for better treatments, a deaf drag queen who signs his routines instead of lip- synching, a gay wedding and beautiful locations in and around Marseilles, and you have a uniquely French but touchingly universal love story.Similar DVD Movies
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