The (Ex)perience of Love

2023 1h 29m FR

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 41

ComedyRomanceDrama

Synopsis

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Remy and Sandra can't have children because they suffer from the "Past Loves Syndrome". To heal, there is only one solution, they must sleep with all their exes once.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Lucie Debay
Sandra
Lazare Gousseau
Rémy
Nora Hamzawi
Julie
Florence Loiret Caille
Marion
Florence Janas
Céline
Vincent Lecuyer
Dr. De Coninck
Ninon Borsei
Justine
Audrey Muller
Audrey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ann Sirot
Writers: Ann Sirot, Raphaël Balboni
Languages: English, French
Countries: Belgium, 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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ann Sirot, shot by Jorge Piquer Rodríguez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Julie Roué. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lucie Debay and Lazare Gousseau and Nora Hamzawi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ann Sirot directs. Jorge Piquer Rodríguez behind the camera. Julie Roué scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, France. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Released 3 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
5International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.
6Directed by Ann Sirot, shot by Jorge Piquer Rodríguez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Julie Roué. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Lucie Debay and Lazare Gousseau and Nora Hamzawi carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt27812279 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 41 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jorge Piquer Rodríguez
Original score: Julie Roué
Sound: Gilles Bénardeau
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Original language: FR
IMDB: The (Ex)perience of Love (2023)

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Ann Sirot

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2024-03-04
★ 8/10
What’s the difference between love and sex? It’s a conundrum that many of us wrestle with (and one that many of us would probably rather not bother with). However, what if it comes up in connection with resolving a sensitive, ongoing problem? That’s what Sandra (Lucie Debay) and her partner Rémy (Lazare Gousseau) must face when it comes to finding an answer to their longstanding infertility problem. They want a child but are having much difficulty getting pregnant. But, after exploring many options, Sandra’s obstetrician (Vincent Lecuyer) proposes an unusual treatment. After having attended a medical conference, he comes away from it believing that the couple is suffering from “Past Love Syndrome,” a psychological condition that’s blocking the physical act of fertilization, a disorder that can be overcome in most cases by each of the partners sleeping with all of their past sex partners. Sandra and Rémy are modestly stunned but nevertheless open to the prospect, but there’s one issue that needs to be addressed – the partners each have drastically different sexual histories. Rémy has only slept with three other women, while Sandra is, shall we say, considerably more “experienced.” This creates something of a disconnect between them, but, in the interest of achieving their goal of getting pregnant, they leave themselves open to the possibilities, a course of action that’s subsequently filled with numerous unexpected surprises, many of them comic, some of them heartfelt, others heartbreaking. And so the process of becoming would-be parents takes off on an unusual odyssey, one punctuated by lots of laughs and a number of intriguingly profound insights about the nature of love, sex, relationships and fidelity (or substitutes therefor). Writer-directors Raphaël Balboni and Ann Sirot have come up with a delightfully charming, funny and endearing story, one that’s nicely paced and presented with inventive cinematography and a sometimes-whimsical, often-colorful production design. This is one of those offbeat romances that pushes viewers to open their eyes – and their minds – to alternative possibilities when it comes to love and how we approach it, showing us that there are many untapped options out there that many of us have never pondered, let alone explored. Indeed, the experience of love need not be a one-size-fits-all exercise as this film so aptly shows. This is a Belgian import truly worthy of a domestic release. Let’s hope it gets one.

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