The Man of my Life (L'homme de sa vie) (2006)

47% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
68% of users liked it
(889 ratings)

A man vacationing in the country with his wife and children finds his sexuality unexpectedly challenged in director Zabou Breitman's intimate drama. Frédéric is a family man who needs a vacation. Upon arriving at his cottage in the country, Frédéric makes the acquaintance of Hugo -- the gay… More A man vacationing in the country with his wife and children finds his sexuality unexpectedly challenged in director Zabou Breitman's intimate drama. Frédéric is a family man who needs a vacation. Upon arriving at his cottage in the country, Frédéric makes the acquaintance of Hugo -- the gay neighbor who resides in the adjacent cottage. A free spirit who is open about his sexuality and frequently goes skinny-dipping in the moonlight, Hugo seems to be everything that Frédéric isn't. Soon, the tension between Hugo and Frédéric is palpable. Yet, while they may be at odds over their opposite lifestyles, the two men are also obviously attracted to one another and soon begin to flirt heavily. But Hugo's taunting of hopeless romantic Frédéric begins bordering on cruel when it becomes obvious that Frédéric is jealous of his new lover. Hugo is staunch in his belief that by committing to a relationship you effectively destroy any possibility of real love, yet Frédéric is vehement in his quest for devotion, despite the fact that his relationship with his wife is at a critical turning point. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Directed By: Zabou Breitman
Written By: Zabou Breitman, Agnes de Sacy
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Mar 3, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Nov 20, 2007
Studio: Strand Releasing

Critic Reviews

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
The Man of My Life has a hard time working up much beyond its visual prettiness.
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
he film has a loose, easy rhythm befitting its sun-splashed look.
Abigail Deutsch, Village Voice
All too often, though, characters bandy about platitudes like they're tennis balls...or shout for no reason.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
A sumptuously illustrated but shallow fable of the grass-is-greener conflict between freedom and commitment.
Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
Too much emphasis is placed on wall text that swirls around like the worst Magnetic Poetry.
David Rooney, Variety
A drama that steadily succumbs to self-conscious artiness, drunk on its own sense of contrived poetry and cloudy existential reflection.
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com
Ultimately, there aren't any pointed conclusions about the meaning of life here other than the rather obvious one that under the still waters of an idyllic Provencal river, the currents run deep
Armond White, New York Press
The most visually resplendent movie so far this year (photographed by Michel Amathieu), yet it lacks the rich balance of sex and intellect that makes an André Téchiné film great.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
If the film ultimately amounts to little more than a midlife coming-of-age story, it's richly imagined and filled with fanciful touches that are in keeping with its passionate subject.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
The film, a purported examination of male sexuality, was directed and written by women, and thus all we get is two super-sensitive men stroking each others' emotional baggage instead of licking each others' *****.
David Noh, Film Journal International
A special, often beautiful and profound film.
Pam Grady, Reel.com
It is beautiful, but ultimately empty and a little bit boring.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Despite good acting and intriguing theme, attraction of married hetero to his gay neighbor, the film feels familiar, from its countryside setting to stereotypical treatment of the homosexual; French title, Man of Her Life, is more accurate and ironic, too
Ed Scheid, Boxoffice Magazine
Director Zabou Breitman, who co-wrote the screenplay, maintains intrigue by regularly cutting back to scenes from the overnight conversation between Frederic and Hugo, adding new insights to the growing friendship.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
It is the unique pleasures to be found in The Man of My Life that are what linger.
Laura Clifford, rec.arts.movies.reviews
...felt like making a discovery...
Ted Murphy, Murphy's Movie Reviews
Although the actors try gamely, they cannot fully rescue THE MAN OF MY LIFE from its flaws. There's a germ of a very good idea in the screenplay, but I just don't feel that the writers fully grasped what they were undertaking.
Boyd van Hoeij, european-films.net
There is a terrific film hiding away in these two hours of good (but not great) artistic melodrama.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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William D

"The Man of My Life," the second film from French filmmaker / screenwriter / actress Zabou Breitman, isn't very good, but at least it's ambitious. It tries to explore new emotional territory. While it's pretty seriously flawed and sometimes laughably… More
"The Man of My Life," the second film from French filmmaker / screenwriter / actress Zabou Breitman, isn't very good, but at least it's ambitious. It tries to explore new emotional territory. While it's pretty seriously flawed and sometimes laughably flat-footed and pretentious, it is the work of a genuine artist. One that is still learning her craft; but then aren't we all. The story, which Breitman co-wrote, introduces us to a delightful, down-to-earth family vacationing in a gorgeous villa in the south of France. (The setting is exquisite, and the cinematography is ravishing. This is the true French countryside.) Moving in next door is a single gay man, whom the family befriends. Gradually through the course of the summer, a special bond develops between the father (played very well by Bernard Campan) and the neighbor. At times they seem like two giddy boys together. Little by little, it appears that they might be falling in love. Their conversations get quite deep, exploring feelings about family, love, relationships, children, etc. And each late-night conversation leaves them oddly moved and oddly uncomfortable. So much seems to be going on just below the surface. The film doesn't have much of a dramatic arc. It doesn't want to be a coming-out melodrama, although there is a little bit of that. It mostly wants to raise questions and explore the emotional landscape of middle-aged men feeling the ground beneath them shifting uncomfortably. The weaknesses in "The Man of My Life" are so significant that I cannot recommend it. But at a minimum, it makes me want to try one more Breitman film to see if she pulls off her interesting experiments with more success elsewhere. (She has directed two more films since completing this one.) It is interesting to ponder what it must be like for straight married men who start to feel their sexuality open up in middle age. From what I can tell, this is happening quite a bit lately. My heart goes out to these men as they struggle to balance loyalty to family with loyalty to their own hearts.
jay n

Beautiful images, good acting.

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Cast

Charles Berling
as Hugo
Niels Lexcellent
as Arthur

The Man of my Life (L'homme de sa vie) (2006)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

William D

jay n

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