Video. Cinema: We saw What is Love?, a sparkling comedy.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Alpe d’Huez Festival (which also crowned Laure Calamy), Fabien Gorgeart’s third film is a delicate, truly funny, and quite deep comedy. “To obtain the nullity of a marriage in the church, religious authorities demand proof of the invalidity of a promise made before God. Not just its non-fulfillment, but the demonstration that everything was a lie and without love,” explains the filmmaker, who conducted extensive research on the subject. “When my producer told me about nullity proceedings, I immediately knew it would be a great comedy subject.”

For the third time, Fabien Gorgeart addresses the theme of family, once again varying the angle and tone. In the delicate “Diane Has the Shoulders” (2017), Clotilde Hesme was pregnant with a baby carrier for a couple of friends. In 2021, “The Real Family” plunged Mélanie Thierry and Lyes Salem into the drama of children entrusted to social services. “This time, I had fun pushing the situations to the absurd; but I was constantly caught by the question of what ‘makes a family’, on how we live with the overlap of our love stories,”

From Wilder to Moretti

Laure Calamy shines as Marguerite, Vincent Macaigne excels as Fred, a sensitive and awkward guy character that suits him perfectly. And we rejoice in this film populated with supporting characters (Mélanie Thierry, Lyes Salem, Céleste Brunnquell, Saül Benchetrit) who, in turn, unravel complex situations, add salt to wounds, or heal the pains of their partners or parents.

“I really wanted a choral film. The beginning looks like a simple remarriage comedy, but we quickly understand that the story of a couple is not exclusive to two people: it concerns many people. Those from our past, present, and future lives,” continues Fabien Gorgeart, who blushes when his film is compared to Billy Wilder’s romantic comedies. “That’s part of my references, of course. Like Howard Hawks, when he delved into comedy, or Nanni Moretti and Woody Allen, whose characters have an active voice: the gags always come from the confrontation of dialogues.” A delight.