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Jacques Gamblin, Sara Forestier, Zinedine Soualem, Carole Franck, Jacques Boudet ... see more see more... , Michèle Moretti , Antoine Michel

Young extrovert Baya Benmahmoud lives by this classic motto: "Make love, not war." In order to convert them to her cause, she sleeps with her political enemies - which means a lot of men, because ever... read more read more...y conservative is her enemy. So far, she's gotten good results. Until she meets Arthur Martin, 40-something. She figures that with such a common name (there are more than 10,000 Arthur Martins in France), he's bound to be a real conservative and thus hard to convert. Yet, names are treacherous and things aren't always what they seem. Bahia and Arthur are as different as two people can be.
 So when they fall in love, sparks fly... -- (C) Music Box Films

Flixster Users

81% liked it

1,015 ratings

Critics

74% liked it

50 critics

R, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Michel Leclerc

Release Date: June 24, 2011

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DVD Release Date: October 18, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (77)

  • blacksheepboy
    March 25, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    A delicious romantic comedy, funny and thought-provoking, with an intelligent commentary on politics and society. But it stands out more for its originality and for being as atypical as its eccentric characters, who we easily learn to care about.
  • gator681
    July 18, 2011
    gator681
    "The Names of Love" starts with Arthur Martin(Jacques Gamblin), an expert in bird diseases, minding his own business on a call-in radio show, urging precaution over the death of a duck.(It was Elmer Fudd I tell you! Because it's duck season. Rabbit season. Duck season...whoa. ... read more Where was I? Oh yeah.) Baya Benmahmoud(Sara Forestier), angry at what she was hearing in her very temporary job answering the telephone, charges into the studio to give everybody a piece of her mind. Afterwards, Baya approaches Arthur about having sex together. Rewind a bit to when Arthur's mother(Michele Moretti) survived the Holocaust and Baya's father(Zinedine Soualem) was living in Algeria.

    A lot of what I don't like about romantic comedies is that they are generally not about anything, fantasies that think they are set in the real world. By contrast, "The Names of Love" incorporates fantasy elements in its witty and sexy deconstruction of identity in modern day France with a couple of classic sight gags to illustrate, offset with a melancholy undercurrent. As Arthur and Baya show us what had to happen for them to meet(In return, Arthur is occasionally advised by his teenaged self(Adrien Stoclet).), we see how their lives were shaped by events beyond their control. To challenge those forces, people including Baya's mother(Carole Franck), attempt to change the laws of the country to make it a better place to live. In response to being sexually abused by her piano teacher as a child, Baya decides to become a 'political whore.' The trick in the present day is to not let the political become personal. That's not to mention the cool stuff you can learn from this movie like how the QWERTY keyboard originated.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
October 4, 2011
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

There's a taste of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Something Wild" "Forces of Nature" and even "Bringing Up Baby," perhaps the best of the wild child-seduces-straight arrow romances. Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
September 1, 2011
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

It's always entertaining, and it boasts a terrific performance from Sara Forestier. Full Review

Tom Long
August 26, 2011
Tom Long, Detroit News

A bit jarring while still totally disarming, The Names of Love stirs the pot in more ways than one. Full Review

Colin Covert
August 25, 2011
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

It's all put across with such energy and good spirits that it feels brand new. If you don't enjoy this one, you don't like fun. Full Review

Mark Jenkins
August 19, 2011
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post

It's a playfully sexy farce that plays like a Gallic "Annie Hall" - if Annie had been as blithe about nudity as Baya is. Full Review

Steven Rea
August 18, 2011
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Playfully provocative and boasting a star-making turn from Sara Forestier, The Names of Love addresses the volatile issue of European assimilation and multiculturalism, but in a tone and tenor full of... Full Review

Ty Burr
August 18, 2011
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Instead of asking "What's in a name?,'' this slyly delightful piece of Gallic fluff wonders at all the ways that names - the labels we give to one another - bring us into the world and keep us apart f... Full Review

Mick LaSalle
July 28, 2011
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Forestier's performance is a tour de force of comic acting, maintaining astonishing alertness and energy from shot to shot and scene to scene. Full Review

J. R. Jones
July 7, 2011
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

The movie never really decides what it's about, and its odd-couple romance is stale and unpersuasive. Full Review

Roger Ebert
July 7, 2011
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What I admired was the story of these characters themselves. What an odd couple. Full Review

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