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Amos Lassen wrote on 02/23/2011:

“The Man of my Life”
Sublime Entertainment
Amos Lassen
Strand Releasing has a new hit on its hands, “The Man of my Life”. It is beautifully filmed and tenderly directed by Zabou Breitman. The story is of a relationship between a married man and his gay neighbor during a summer in Provence, France. A couple and their young son invite friends and family to spend the summer holiday with them and a neighbor, a middle-aged single man is invited to the first night outdoor party. We quickly learn that the neighbor is gay and as the movie progresses and the husband begin a friendship. It sounds simple enough and it is but what catches the viewer are the beautiful visual aspects of the film and the wonderful background music. Both make the movie a feast for the eyes and ears.
“The Man of my Life” is a languid morality tale about a couple that seems to be completely happy but whose certainty about their marriage is shaken by unexpected homosexual flirtation. Frederic (Bernard Campan who gives a wonderful performance), his wife Frederique (Lea Drucker) are again vacationing at their favorite spot in Provence at Frederic’s family home. The usual endless stream of family and friends visits them but this year Hugo (Charles Berling) is a new addition to the crowd. When Frederique suggests that Hugo be invited over, things begin to change in the idyllic setting. Hugo is not one for large parties and prefers quiet tête-à-têtes but does manage to shake things up at the first party that he attends by announcing that he is gay. As the party begins to come to a close, we see Hugo and Frederic on the terrace discussing love. Hugo claims to only be in love while making love and reality wants no part of what is known as love. Frederic feels quite differently and says that it is love that makes a person feel alive. This chat is the opening of what is to become a relationship between the two men and the bond that they form threatens to become something stronger and more intense than just friendship. Frederic begins to lose interest in having sex with his wife and she feels that she is about to lose her husband to another man.
At different places during the film, we return to the terrace and that night when the two men first spoke to each other. We hear Hugo’s thoughts on love and passion and they make an impression on Frederic. It is these impressions that propel the plot and take us to new levels not often expressed on film. The film is basically a middle-age coming-of-age story but it is so richly portrayed that it touches the viewer deeply.
The performances are wonderful and the way a relationship comes into being after an all night conversation is portrayed achingly beautifully. This is not a straightforward love story but is about the transformation and awakening of a man who had not been paying attention to his own life.
Zabou Breitman chose to open up the unconventional with this film and shows us that each of us is looking for an answer. We are on a journey as we try to formulate a stance on love and how it is situated in our lives. He looks at all aspects of masculine love and presents us with the alternatives to what so many think is the only way to live. The film is romantic, exceedingly so but it is also very realistic. We learn gradually about love as seen and explained by the characters. What could easily have been a rather sappy movie turns out to be one of sublime beauty and a pleasure to watch.

just a reviewer wrote on 06/16/2008:

...........or: "FRED DISCOVERS HE'S BEEN MISSING SOMETHING" (alternate title for this review).((1)). This is a love story.........a falling-in-love story. Yes, it's a love story, pure and simp.... Oh, wait, it's not so simple after all. Just think how shattering it must be to have spent the majority of your adult life in a happy and loving heterosexual marriage........only to have a day come along----one like any ordinary day----until it changes to one in which you meet a someone of the same sex, and there starts the beginnings of a new love. That's what this film is about, and the DVD back cover description of the story also lays it out for us in a nutshell:

((2)). {"While on holiday at his family's home in Provence, Frederic's seemingly perfect family life is disrupted when he meets his neighbor, a graphic artist named Hugo. Suddenly, Frederic's entire existence is thrown out of order as the two men devop an attraction to each other, both intelllectually and emotionally, which destroys the once perfect relationship between Frederic and his wife."}

((3)). In this "typically French" film, we're fairly quickly introduced to two men: Frederic ("F"), a seemingly happily married man with wife (Frederique), child and extended family residing in their vacation villa. We first see scenes not only of this fairly large group's family interactions, but also intimate interludes between just this man and his wife. Closeness, caressing and kissing abound in this couple's first scenes (but, wait.......we then discover that physical intercourse, on his part, seems to have become difficult to achieve). We then meet our second male lead, Hugo ("H"), a graphic designer who resides next door. He's an unashamedly "out" gay man who, through the course of the film, becomes as increasingly fascinating to our villa resident as that vacationer becomes to him. "H" is a man who happily and easily frequents a local gay bar, as well as entertains a string of handsome young men in his home. One of the first times we and Frederic are invited into H's home/studio we are confronted by a stunningly beautiful young god of a man----nude and seemingly levitated far above our heads in a semi-fetal sleeping position. It is an image that any famed museum/gallery in the world would die for. It is on this same residence's main, living area walls that we later see projected an ever changing and increasing array of letters, words, phrases (apparently produced by the sun's light entering large windows on which these letters, etcetera, have been placed). They appear, move and fade with changes in the sun's position and brightness. We come to discover these words and phrases have originated in the two men's shortly later meeting at a family party and from their into-the-wee-morning-hours, one-on-one conversation. Frederic's discovery of this wall projection phenomenon indicates to him the importance to Hugo of that first night's lengthy interaction between the two. Speaking of such, we visit and revisit this hours long conversation, which touches on life philosophy and love among other areas, at various points throughout the entire film. It's during these hours, as their comfort with one another deepens, that we watch as Hugo becomes more touchy-feely with Frederic, who himself becomes more comfortably at ease. Revealingly, we then witness their time together coming to its early morning conclusion, with "H" leaving for home, while softly voicing to "F" the ultimate in personal compliments. I must ask here what would be your reaction, dear reader, if your newfound and liked, departing companion directed to you the words, "You're devastating?" Ah, yes.......well, for Frederic it obviously becomes the start of something completely new and different in his life.

((4)). Complimenting these intensely personal and emotional scenes, there is a stunningly beautiful progression of outdoor / landscape scenes, one in particular showing a morning run, but ankle-injured Frederic being carried home on Hugo's back, wending their way through a very large field of what appears to be blooming garlic (unusually lovely, to say the least), and then through a huge and magnificent field of sunflower blooms. Tellingly, "F's" arms are clasped around "H's" shoulders and neck, with the side of his face resting against the back of Hugo's head (and this is the scene unhappy wife, Frederique, sees upon their arrival at the villa). Shortly follows a quickening of the recuperating Frederic's feelings for the other man as we see him, half dozing on a patio lounge chair, sensing the presence of another, and finally opening his eyes to a quietly arrived and serious faced Hugo. A smile slowly lighting his features, "H" utters: "I came to see about you. I'll get back to work now." The look of self-satisfaction then appearing on "F's" face tells us more than could a thousand words.

((5)). Perhaps the most significant indication of the depth of growth in the relationship of these two men occurs near film's end, upon Frederic's learning of Hugo's impending temporary departure from the area. Limping his way to seek out "H," he finds him outside the area's gay nightclub. Responding to Hugo's questions, "Why did you come? Why are you here? You want to tell me something?" Frederic responds: "You're leaving-----." "F" then approaches "H" to bring them standing as physically close as possible, forehead to forehead, eyes closed. After a few moments, Frederic turns suddenly and departs (it is this scene's DVD Chapter heading that the film director has labeled: "In Love"----methinks she knows of what she speaks).

((6)). Moving on to other facets of this production, the film also contains any number of strange / unusual----and surreal-ish----scenes and camera shots, which include:

((a)). A weirdly located string quartet, set up and playing / practicing(?) at night in nothing larger than a good sized, but tumbledown and strangely well lit, chicken coop. The only viewing-in access to their performance seems to be a very small, dirty and opaque-ish window through which we see peering in at various times, first, the Halloween-like masked heads of children, then the head of "F" and, later, the side-by-side heads of both our male leads.

((b)). A nighttime village dance scene with that same quartet providing sensuous tango music for a beautiful young male / female couple's performance (scene later on morphs to that of a male / male performance to the same music strains).

((c)). The drifting / changing letters-, words-, phrases-on-walls scenes which have already been mentioned.

((d)). A brief, close up view of slowly moving, crystal clear water in which only the long, very blond tresses of someone's unseen head are shown dreamily drifting and swirling (wife, Frederique's hair is of this color).

((e)). A late scene involving Hugo's standing before a gigantic, red door (we do feel somewhat safe in concluding that this relates an earlier in life falling out instigated by his family----bet you have no trouble at all in arriving at what that resulted from).

((f)). There are other such unusual shots throughout the film, and if anyone of you out there is aware of their meanings, please feel free to provide your Comments in that area below. A strong wish on my part is that our lady director had taken the time in her DVD Special Feature comments to enlighten us in these matters (or, perhaps, her goal was for us to reach our own interpretations and conclusions). Additionally, there are things about the setup of this film that, to this viewer, are less than successful. There is an over abundance of scenes involving Frederic's extended family that are virtually unnecessary to the progress of the film, chief of which are those involving possible rape of a young female. This scene definitely detracts from the forward progress of the film, as does a couple of less than sensical family swimming forays.

((7)). Lastly, having just shortly ago spoken of Frederique ("F's" spouse), this movie can be pretty much described as one, long downhill slide for her, emotionally and relationship-wise. Her last scenes are ones of frantic----and nude----ravings over her perceived connubial losses.

((8)). AND, as to what Fred's future lifestyle plans for himself are, you'll have to watch this film and decide for yourself. To help you through this a little, in his last scene he does say to his sleeping young son: "I'm wobbly, imperfect, broken pawed, heart-in-tatters. I love you, but know I still have to grow up. I'll come back. I'll come back to spar with you again."

((9)). So, dear readers of this page and viewers of this film, what do you think is the meaning of his final words........and what can they possibly portend for Hugo?

((10)). PS--Speaking of meanings, if you're wondering about this review's title (...little chair by the bed), you'll just have to check out the film for yourself. Happy viewing.

((11)). PPS--This film is becoming "Addictive." ***Other such habit formers: "Just A Question Of Love" (Wow) / "Brokeback Mountain" / "Boy Culture" / "All Over The Guy" / "Second Skin" / "The Man I Love" / "Latter Days" / "The Mudge Boy"