Recommended movie: “An Affair of Love”
The secret oath that has not been
The relationship between a man and a woman has already been brought to the movies in a thousand different ways, whether in a romantic way, such as “A Man and a Woman” (“Un homme et une femme”, FRA, 1966), “Casablanca” (USA, 1942), “Sleepless in Seattle” (USA, 1993), or in a neurotic way like “Last Tango in Paris”(“Last Tango a Parigi”, FRA / ITA, 1972), “Empire of the Senses” (“Ai no korîda”, JAP, 1976), “Damage”, UK / FRA, 1992). And then, when one thinks that there was nothing more to explore, comes a beautiful French movie “An Affair of Love” (“Une liaison pornographique”, FRA 1999).
Do not let the original title fool you. The movie – indicated by my youngest daughter – does not contain any pornography, at most some nudity and sex simulation. Any soap opera will certainly feature stronger scenes than this movie.
The pornographic relationship quoted in the original title, refers to how the characters met. Through a specialized magazine, a man and a woman, who did not know each other, set a date for sharing a certain sexual fantasy that is never revealed. The woman defines the relation as pornographic, because it had exclusively sexual origin.
Curiously, as they meet, the two begin to discover affinities and an empathy that gradually becomes a deeper feeling. Even sex happens in a different way, with emotion and involvement.
The situation is complicated because, although increasingly involved, each of them has difficulty expressing their feelings. It is the perfect picture of modern society, because the more technological facilities of communication are perfected, the more people have difficulties expressing what they feel.
The movie is technically perfect. The spectator becomes an omniscient accomplice, for the two involved narrate their experience to anonymous interlocutors, probably their respective therapists. By this way, we become aware not only of the couple’s most intimate moments, but also of what each one felt or thought about at the time.
Two moments in the movie are particularly interesting. Upon leaving the hotel, after one of the meetings, the man invites his partner to dinner. The two of them feel extremely well, as there is no anxiety to impress the other and ensure the sex at the end of the meeting – this has already happened. Dinner is so pleasurable, they decide to return to the hotel. In another moment, the woman suggests that they not only make sex, but love. That would be the mutation point of the relationship, where people who did not know the name, address or telephone of the other, consolidate a strong emotional bond.
The two protagonists, the Spanish actor Sergi Lopez and French actress Nathalie Baye have a perfect chemistry, sustaining the film with their performances. The cast is reduced, the sets basically boil down to the hotel room and restaurant where they meet, but alternating flashback narration, instead of messing up, drives the movie as if it were a delicate patchwork.
“An Affair of Love” is a movie that is worth watching, commenting on, discussing, and reflecting on. Maybe there’s a bit of the movie’s couple in all our relationships, with stuffy feelings, unspoken words, incomplete gestures, and unshared emotions. Who knows, seeing this with others, will not help us a little? After all, as Brazilian singer Fagner wrote, “Only one thing saddens me / The kiss of love that I did not steal / The secret oath that I did not / The fight of love that I did not cause …”