The Names of Love (2010)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Absolutely Fantastic

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Baya, whose name reminds everyone of Bahia, in Brazil, is a rebellious young woman; she does not mix her words, she likes to equate anything resembling right wing as fascist, a term that is a favorite of most people on the left side of politics. She has a strong reason for being that way; she comes from parents that are half Algerian and half French with strong leanings to the left. She is a rebel who was abused by a pedophile, a man posing himself as a piano teacher. Baya has grown up to be an independent soul believing in having sex on the first date.Arthur Martin, whose mother was Jewish at birth, is an avian expert who is not heavily into controversy. He gets rattled when a furious Baya irrupts in the studio where he is being interviewed about avian flu and other viruses. In Baya's mind, Arthur Martin, whose name is the same as a brand of popular stoves in France, he nothing but a fascist with his theories about the dangers of being exposed to all the dangers carried by birds.It is almost inevitable these two would meet as they both are attracted to each other. Baya is vocal in her ways, while Arthur is more reserved. Baya suffers from being absent minded. She also wears inappropriate clothes that reveal her breast if she does the wrong kind of movement. She is easily distracted to the point of going into the Paris metro completely naked and not realizing it, until a Muslim man, sitting opposite her, is clearly shocked by her nakedness."Les nom des gens", directed and co-written by Michel Leclerc and Baya Kasmi, is a different film from France, with strong political, as well as romantic ideas. We saw it when it first opened commercially at the Sunshine, and on second viewing, we found it even better than the first time. M. Leclerc's film takes us through the backgrounds of all the players and what made them the way they turned out to be. It is a film that fires theories and ideas in rapid fashion, something that works well within the context of what the director was looking for.The best thing in the film is Sarah Forestier whose take on Baya is disarmingly frank. One can only think about how difficult it must have been for this actress to do some of the things the screenplay demanded of her. It might have been embarrassing as well for her to follow what was expected of her. No wonder she was given the precious Cesar for best actress. It is a bold approach to acting, something quite unique. Ms. Forestier gives one of the most courageous renditions for an actress in recent memory.Jacques Gamblin, on the other hand, plays the more quieter Arthur with good sense of what was wanted of him. His Arthur is a quiet individual whose dull life is shattered with the appearance of the intense presence of Baya. M. Gamblin keeps getting better and better with each new film. The wonderful supporting cast includes Carole Franck, Michele Moretti, Jacques Boudet and Zinedine Soualem.

This film is totally original in its approach. The characters are interesting (Baya as a caricature of a leftist), the various other characters where no one is as he or she seems. There is a lot more commonality than difference in the characters. There past traumas and origins come out through the course of the film.The film is interspersed with characters and snippets from the past, including a young Arthur Martin and a Pere Martin who looks old even when he was young. The destinies/ambitions/mindsets of the main characters all meld in a very interesting way. It is an unusual love story and you truly find the ways the two principle characters reach out to each other quite touching. But unlike many French romantic comedies, where people just think and feel, there are many surprising and titillating developments in the film. We can go from a naked Baya in the subway to memories of the Holocaust.The film represents a lovely pastiche, medley and tapestry of the elements which make up modern France. It does so with very original characters and scenarios and is a real pleasure to watch. It makes some strong points about stereotypes, origins, perceptions yet presents it all in a quirky, sexy and intriguing way. Totally worth seeing!

I decided to give this film a try based on the reviews that considered it to be an excellent film, and I'm really glad I did. I wasn't expecting much from this film, as I'm not really fond of romantic comedies; most of them nowadays are terrible and full of cheesy, clichéd and nonsensical stuff. This film, however, was a blow of fresh air to me, it completely blew my mind with its originality.The photography and the camera-work are really amazing; they help to contemplate things much better, and the plot is not the clichéd romantic plot you would expect (maybe in some parts it is, but for the most part is really innovative, at least in my opinion). I for one liked the short scene and sequence where the main characters of the story are sitting on a bench and then the camera moves onto a nearer bench where they appear again, but this time as kids. Then the camera goes back to the other bench where they are grown up again, and then one more time moves onto the bench that represents them as kids. That was really an amazing sequence, showing their actual selves on one side and their past selves on the other.As to the acting, they are very well executed. The revelation here would be actress Sara Forestier; what a great actress and beautiful woman she is, she delivers a really convincing acting. Maybe that was a little bit biased on account of her nudity in this film, but she still is a great actress nevertheless. I would actually compare this kind of filmmaking with that of Amelie's. They are very different movies, though, but it is the closest style of filmmaking I can compare it with.Finally, It is appropriate to say that this film is not for everyone; it is a really different kind of filmmaking. Although if you're looking for something fresh, you should give this a try, you won't be disappointed.My Score: 9.1/10

I watched the film (dubbed into German) yesterday in Berlin and this is by far the most beautiful movie, I've seen in decades! An excellent cast, an outstanding script, breathtaking photography and direction and great music makes watching 'Le nom des gens' a lifetime experience!! You can cry, you can laugh, you can think about your own family's past and you can remember a lot of the things that happened in the film from your own life!! Once again did the French prove, that they are the only filmmakers out there, who have the sense for that 'certain something'! When the credits appear, you feel like you have to watch the film over and over again.