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The Names of Love(Le Nom des gens)

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France · 2010
Rated R · 1h 40m
Director Michel Leclerc
Starring Jacques Gamblin, Sara Forestier, Zinedine Soualem, Jacques Boudet
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance

Baya is a young, extroverted liberal who lives by the old hippie slogan "Make love, not war." She seduces right-wing men to convert them to her political causes - and so far she's gotten exceptional results. That is, until she meets Arthur, a middle-aged, middle-of-the-road scientist, and sparks fly.

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What are critics saying?

40

Time Out by David Fear

The question of whether the couple can overcome respective traumas and inbred social attitudes is essentially moot; the real query is how much insufferable Gallic tweeness you can stand before simply shouting "no, merci!"

20

New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier

Director Michel Leclerc's comedy plays like one of those foreign-movie spoofs Jerry and the gang would go to see on a "Seinfeld" episode. Only here, there's no "young girl's journey from Milan to Minsk" - just from madcap to moronic.

75

The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps

The American romantic comedy has grown distressingly moribund lately, but anyone looking to freshen up the genre a bit need look no further than Michel Leclerc's The Names Of Love.

83

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

For those who wish to decode The Names of Love, there's a sharp commentary on French prejudices, character types, history, and culture embedded in Michel Leclerc's droll autobiographical French comedy.

40

Village Voice by Melissa Anderson

The pathetic attempts at outré, taboo-busting humor as sociopolitical commentary can't disguise what this film really is: a mawkish, MOR comedy of manners that even its straw man Nicolas Sarkozy would find suitable for date night.

70

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

For all the potentially dangerous subjects it glosses, above all the tangled legacies of the Holocaust and the Algerian war, The Names of Love dances away from any uncomfortable provocation. Even when sticking out its tongue, it is finally just an airy comedy riding on one cheeky, incandescent performance.

50

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

Strained and mildly amusing. The real reason to see the movie is the delightful performance by Sara Forestier, who rightly won the French version of the Oscar for her portrayal of the carefree Baya.

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