Comme les autres (2008)

They were the perfect loving couple, well, almost.Emmanuel wanted a child but Philippe didn't. One day, however, Emmanuel decides to take the plunge, at the risk of losing Philippe. But how do you make a child when you are gay?

Director:

Vincent Garenq

Writer:

Vincent Garenq

Stars:

Lambert Wilson, Pilar López de Ayala, Pascal Elbé

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lambert Wilson	...	Le docteur Emmanuel François Xavier Bernier dit / Manu
Pilar López de Ayala	...	Josefina Maria Paredes dite : Fina
Pascal Elbé	...	Philippe
Anne Brochet	...	Cathy
Andrée Damant	...	Suzanne
Florence Darel	...	Isa
Marc Duret	...	Marc
Liliane Cebrian	...	La mère de Fina
Luis Jaime Cortez	...	Le père de Fina
Catherine Erhardy	...	Mme Charpentier - l'assistante sociale
Eriq Ebouaney	...	L'assistant social
Agathe Chouchan	...	Lesbienne 1
Esther Sironneau	...	Lesbienne 2
Juliette Degenne	...	Lesbienne 3
Sophie-Charlotte Husson	...	Lesbienne 4

Storyline

Manu, a gay pediatrician in his forties, would be perfectly happy if he could adopt a child and bring him or her up with his partner, Philippe, a lawyer. Where the shoe pinches is that Philippe is pleased with his present life and will not have it spoiled by the invading presence of a wailing brat. Unable to find an agreement the two lovers part. Manu, although shaken, is single-minded about finding a surrogate mother, willing to give him the child he craves. Fina, an Argentine beauty trying to get a job, but held back because of her lack of immigrant papers, might do the job for him in exchange for a marriage of convenience. However, as Blaise Pascal would put it, "The heart has reasons that Reason cannot know".

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Plot Keywords:

gay | marriage | lawyer | immigrant | marriage of convenience | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Mars Distribution [France] Official site

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

3 September 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Baby Love

Filming Locations:

Bar Aux Folies - 8 Rue de Belleville, Paris 20, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), CinéCinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film inspired by an actual situation and real facts that happened to Manu (also the main character's name in the film), a friend of the writer-director's.

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Soundtracks

"Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Quizás, Quizás, Quizás)"
Written by Osvaldo Farrés and Joe Davis
English lyrics by Doris Day
Sung by Doris Day
From album 'Latin For Lovers' (Columbia Records, 1965)

User Reviews

A good approach to the subject but a little heterosexist

I think this film is very effective in showing the drama of a homosexual man who wants to be a father. The acting is good and the situations Manu goes through are real, this is what happens to a gay man in reality. There are two critiques that I can do. The most important one, the relationship between Manu and Phillippe is sort of "censored", we don't see them having sex and the re-encounter kiss is cut really really fast. We see very few displays of affection between the men. On the other hand there is a sex scene between Manu and Fina and several kisses. So from a gay point of view, there is sort of a censorship, or probably the actors were too inhibited to go all the way. I think it may have been necessary a sex scene or other display of affection between the men in the beginning before they split, just to be in balance with the "heterosexual" side of the movie. A minor critique, is that Fina and her mother are Spanish actors, and for an Argentinian viewer this is evident, though they try to copy the Argentine Spanish accent they don't get it right. The only real Argentinian actor or at least Uruguayan seems to be her father. But this is just a detail that doesn't affect the story.