Les enfants de l'amour

CHILDREN OF LOVE is a film about the effects of divorce not only from the perspective of the adults involved but also the children and the results of who gets custody and when. It is an idea that isn't really explored very often, or at least usually not in an honest way. Most of the time it's all about the court battles and the drama between the two parents of the children. For example, THE NEXT BEST THING with Madonna and Rupert Everett. The idea of this film is a bit more ambitious than that, however.

The film depicts three children who have two different dads and they each visit their respective dads for the weekend. One of the fathers is a complete tool and a total smart ass who tends to humiliate those around him with his cruel mind games and his endless lectures. He doesn't appear to realize that he alienates everyone around him, including his two kids. The other father has a girlfriend and, unlike the other father, has moved on a lot more. He's a good father, but his only hang up is that he also loves his other two step children and is unable to ever see them. The mother of these three children is a nervous wreck of a woman who is too stressed out and too preoccupied to pay attention to her children, despite the love she certainly feels for them.

This film really provides a lot for the audience to think about when it comes to family. The entire mood and tone of the pictures is so realistic and unflinching in it's series of events that one can't help but feel really quite helpless while watching it. There is a lot of material here that many will fully be able to relate to and the feelings of loneliness and isolation are captured perfectly. It's a beautifully made film and it works excellently in it's thought-provoking execution. I found the ending in particular with the little girl on the couch with her mother to be very heart wrenching in many different ways and truly tear-jerking but without being sentimental or sappy.

In terms of flaws, I found the sudden switch in style halfway through to be jarring and more than a little distracting. It brought too much attention to itself in that it took me out of the world of the film. I understand what they were going for in the documentary approach, but I felt that it didn't really tread much new ground and that it's points could have easily been stated in the film's original style. However, it doesn't hurt the film enough for me to not recommend it. CHILDREN OF LOVE is definitely worth seeing for sure.

Being a personal friend of the producer I was invited to the premiere at the International Film Festival 2001 in Ghent, Belgium. When I first saw the movie, I had trouble staying awake .. i had worked that day for 8 hours behind a TV-camera and the combination of the heavy story, the sometimes erratic camera movements and the tiredness from work made it impossible to fairly judge the movie .. so I went to see it again a couple of days later, well rested. And then it was bingo, you really enjoy the characters, you don't mind the way it is filmed, and you wish at the end of the movie to see it again someday soon .. it has some pretty funny moments in it, and at some points in the movie you forget it's fiction and you really get the idea you're watching a documentary .. this is as close to real life you can get in the movies, and the actors do their job very very well, especially the children .. if you get a chance to see it, make sure you do .. but also make sure you are well rested!!