Since 1998 Emmanuel Mouret has written, directed, and acted in one short and seven full-length feature films which have gradually improved although from the first his standard was high. His films are perhaps best described as the kind Eric Rohmer would have made had be been prepared to accept that audiences on the whole prefer to be entertained rather than watch paint drying. Out of the seven full length films Frederic Bel has appeared in four and Ariane Ascaride in two, he has also been able to attract actresses like Virginie Ledoyen, Judith Godriche, Marie Gillain and Julie Depardieu and the current film also boasts the presence of Francois Cluzet. The Art Of Love is little more than a series of vignettes in which some of the couples really do meet others and some just miss; it is referential in that it takes something from La Ronde and - in the episode featuring Mouret himself - O'Henry's The Gift Of The Magi. Throughout it has the lightness of a soufflé' and the gravitas of bouillabaisse. Catch it if you can.
Review of The Art of Love
