Why do we even continue to pen reviews of these delicious foreign movies?

If the mission is to enlighten the Indian rabble, that’s a Sisyphean labor, a hopeless exercise in futility.

How many pearls must you fling before you realize Indian swine are not likely to get too excited over anything that has even the faintest whiff of class!

But not one to easily concede defeat, we persist Sisyphus-like in our labors.

Delicious Comedy

This evening, we poured ourselves a large shot of vodka, added some Izze sparkling pomegranate juice and plonked down to watch the award-winning 2010 French film The Names of Love (Le Nom des gens).

Directed by Michel Leclerc, based on the story by Leclerc and Baya Kasmi and featuring French actors Sara Forestier and Jacques Gamblin, the movie turned out to be a delicious comedy.

A hilarious political romantic comedy, to be precise.

We’ve never been fond of the political Right, seeing in them nothing more than a gang of corporate thugs, racists and greedy SOBs and in their followers a bunch of ignorant baboons.

In our mind, only sick SOBs would stand on the wrong side of politics and life by aligning with the Right.

So, we were greatly heartened to see that the heroine of this film Baya Benmahmoud (Sara Forestier) strongly against all that the Right, or Fascists as she terms them, stands for.

French comedies, unlike the crass American or hopelessly crude and unfunny Bollywood comedies, are subtle and depend not merely on the acting but rely a lot on the crackling, sparkling writing to regale us.

And The Names of Love certainly doesn’t disappoint on the writing side.

Besides the unusual story, The Names of Love is unconventional in other ways too.

For instance, it has the principal characters telling part of their parents stories as grownups alongside their young parents.

Changing a Right-Wing Nut

Easier said than done, when it comes to changing a right-wing drone.

You see, if the Right-wingers are not monsters, then you can be sure they’re blithering idiots being led up the garden path (like the Tea Party zombies in America).

But our heroine Baya has her unique brand of course correction for these Right-wing souls – It’s called sleeping with the enemy.

As Baya describes her rather unusual modus operandi to her genuine love Arthur Martin (Jacques Gamblin):

When you sleep with the fascist, there’s a moment when he’s receptive. Then you say lot of things to his subconscious mind, like with hypnotism.

To describe the circumstances and consequences of her behavior as hilarious would be to understate things.

Arthur and Baya are a study in contrasts.

One, a straight arrow working as a veterinarian. The other, a completely uninhibited soul who has no proper job.

One who sleeps on the first date. And the other, chronically uncomfortable with the opposite sex, never sleeps on the first date.

As often happens in life, these completely opposite souls find themselves deeply, passionately attracted to each other despite ahem some serious complications.

Both Jacques Gamblin and Sara Forestier deliver powerful performances.

To describe Sara Forestier as a superb actress would be an egregious act of understatement.

Mistress of a thousand expressions, the French actress is a volcano of energy, vitality and talent.

Not particularly beautiful, say like a Juliette Binoche, and endowed with a bust smaller than we’d feel comfortable handling, nevertheless she’s likely to light up movie screens for the next four or five decades.

No surprise then that Sara Forestier was honored with the César Award for Best Actress at the 36th César Awards ceremony in February this year.

Merely one in a long line of awards that the SI Gods prophesy for the 25-year-old actress. César Awards are France’s national film awards.

By the way, the movie also won a Césarfor Best Writing.

The Names of Love is a lively, delightful movie that all serious movie buffs must watch.

Your favorite blog SearchIndia.com strongly recommends The Names of Love (Le Nom des gens).

Oh yeah, the movie has plenty of nudity including full front and back. Now that should set all ye priapic mongrels drooling. 😉

The Names of Love is available on DVD at Netflix with English subtitles.

  Jacques Gamblin, Michel Leclerc, Sara Forestier