Love Songs

Love Songs

Category: (DVD)

17 new, starting at $16.00

3 used, starting at $24.87

Buy Now

Editorial Reviews

Christophe Honoré further makes a case as one of the most exciting filmmakers of our generation with the exuberant and tender Love Songs (Les Chansons D'Amour), a modern day musical told through unforgettable songs sung entirely by the cast. In the hope of sparking their stalled relationship, Ismaël (Louis Garrel, Dans Paris, The Dreamers) and Julie (Ludivine Sagnier, Swimming Pool) enter a playful yet emotionally laced threesome with Alice (Clotilde Hesme, Regular Lovers). When tragedy strikes, these young Parisians are forced to deal with the fragility of life and love.

Customer Reviews

Louis Garrel is the best thing about this film.

Reviewed by Cleo, 2010-02-18

Louis Garrel gave the best performance in this film. I didn't realize he was so talented when I watched him in The Dreamers. The other singers were not memorable but I'm impressed at how ugly sentiments sounded so pretty sung by him.

So good!

Reviewed by B. Rose, 2010-01-17

I loved this movie. It is tragic yet beautiful. It is a story of an alternative love triangle that ends very differently than it begins. If you love french films then i highly recommend this modern musical.

Love Songs-DVD

Reviewed by RDH Mommy, 2009-03-08

Great movie/musical-only the French can get away with a storyline like this!
I bought the CD too, and am very happy with it.
All the actors have amazing voices and the music is catchy and tres' bien!

Musical Paris

Reviewed by Amos Lassen, 2009-02-04

"Love Songs"

Musical Paris

Amos Lassen

"Love Songs" is not your typical movie musical and is in no way traditional. It is a blend of a classical quartet with acoustic guitar and the singing is integral to the story.
Ismael (Louis Garrel) lives with his girlfriend Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) and they share their bed with Alice (Clotilde Hesme) who works with Ismael. The three walk the streets of Paris and they party and sleep together. There are occasional jealousies but by and large the three are fine together. When death suddenly strikes those who are left have to come to terms with losing someone they love and we see new relationships being formed and the youth men and women are there for each other and as their spirits return, they find that new commitments are possible.
The film is homage to love, life, death, youth, friendship, music and of course Paris. The film takes us into its arms and gives us a musical that is French to its core and it is all expressed in song. At first I felt like this was going to be a piece of fluff but it soon became charming. Replete with thirteen songs, the movie looks at sexuality which is porous and it is a story of romance cut short by tragedy and then it shows how it is possible to again find love.
The songs give us the pure and genuine emotions which are difficult to achieve by spoken word. The lyrics flow from the actors in realistic ways. This is more than a movie, it is an experience.

French Musical Drama

Reviewed by Daniel G. Lebryk, 2009-01-04

This has to be one of the more ill conceived ideas in film history. A dramatic musical? No, sorry this one just flat out doesn't work. In Paris (Dans Paris), similar flavor, similar cast, but without the music - that works.

The positives - the music is pretty, the songs do move the story line along, and the singing / instruments are all well done. The film is set in real live Paris - near the Bastille. Work a day Paris, not the tourist Paris. The French is beautiful. And the actors have a certain allure.

The negatives - this unreasonable shuffling of partners and mixing it all up, female/female/male, female/female, male/male... and all without passion. In the opening threesome, they all read books. Zero excitement here. The songs, just way too many of them. Nothing really happens in this story.

Here is the whole film: a man and two women live together. There's a party at Julie's parent's house. The three go to a concert. Julie has a heart attack and dies. Everyone grieves. The lead man sleeps with a younger man. There's a bunch of jealousy all around. And the film almost ends with him visiting Julie's grave and seeing visions of her, she sort of releases him. He goes to the younger man's apartment and makes out with him on the balcony, the end. I haven't spoiled this film for anyone reading this synopsis.

There are no special features on the DVD, just trailers. In French with well done English subtitles.

It is an R rated movie. Not for nudity, there is absolutely none. Not for language, there is no foul language. Not for violence. It's the subject matter and suggested things under the covers that yielded the R rating, the MPAA at their best. I find it hard to believe that anyone under 16 would be remotely interested in this film. For that matter, anyone older than 16.

Just cannot recommend this film experiment.