Love Songs

"When hearts beat to the rhythm of melody."

2007 1h 30m FR

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 271

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ismael and Julie, in the hope of sparking their stalled relationship, enter a playful yet emotionally laced threesome with Alice. When tragedy strikes, these young Parisians are forced to deal with the fragility of life and love. For Ismael, this means negotiating through the advances of Julie's sister and a young college student – one of which may offer him redemption.

“When hearts beat to the rhythm of melody.”

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Cast

Louis Garrel
Ismaël Bénoliel
Ludivine Sagnier
Julie Pommeraye
Chiara Mastroianni
Jeanne
Clotilde Hesme
Alice
Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
Erwann
Brigitte Roüan
Julie's Mother
Alice Butaud
Jasmine
Jean-Marie Winling
Julie's Father

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Christophe Honoré
Writers: Christophe Honoré
Languages: French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Christophe Honoré, shot by Rémy Chevrin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chantal Hymans shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Louis Garrel and Ludivine Sagnier and Chiara Mastroianni carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When hearts beat to the rhythm of melody.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0996605 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Christophe Honoré directs. Rémy Chevrin behind the camera. Chantal Hymans cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 19 years ago.
3Directed by Christophe Honoré, shot by Rémy Chevrin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Chantal Hymans shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Louis Garrel and Ludivine Sagnier and Chiara Mastroianni carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "When hearts beat to the rhythm of melody.".
7IMDB entry: tt0996605 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 10 themes, including "paris, france", "cigarette", "menage a trois", "musical".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rémy Chevrin
Editing: Chantal Hymans
Production design: Samuel Deshors
Costume design: Pierre Canitrot
Makeup / hair: Manuela Taco
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
Certification (US): 18
IMDB: Love Songs (2007)

Awards

César Award for Best Music Written for a Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Christophe Honoré

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-07-19
★ 7/10
I'm not sure that even at their most downbeat, Messrs Kretzmer, Boublil & Schönberg could have thought of singing about grey skies raining down thousands of needles - and they were talking about the French Revolution! Anyway, that's the type of lyric written for this quirkily entertaining story that starts with three in a bed. "Ismaël" (Louis Garrel), his girlfriend "Julie" (Ludivine Sagnier) and her friend "Alice" (Clotilde Hesme). That doesn't go so well, indeed life for "Ismaël" generally takes a turn for the worst when tragedy strikes and everyone has to make some practical and emotional adjustments to their lives. As time passes, though, the green shoots of recovery start to emerge - but not where anyone expects them. That's largely down to the enthusiastic "Erwann" (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) who takes this complex but amusing look at the nature of human relationships full circle. Most of the musical numbers don't translate so well into English - the scanning and rhymes can sound a bit contrived, but the gist is there as the songs infill the narrative with some quite emotionally charged scenarios played out amidst the scenery of Paris. It can be cheesy at times, but it's essentially a story about the resilience of the human spirit to reboot and find new love where an old one has gone. Garrel is on good form here, some of his facial expressions just have to be seen as his character attempts to muddle through determined not to take the more obvious routes to happiness - despite himself, half the time. It's not deep and meaningful, but there are some salient points to be taken about grief and rejuvenation - and I did like the ending.

Production companies