Peindre ou faire l'amour (2005)

Peindre ou faire l'amour (2005), the title of Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu’s romantic comedy, translates loosely as To Paint or Make Love. For most--even the most committed artists--this is hardly a stumper, but for an amateur painter heroine played by Sabine Azéma, it’s something of a quandary. The Larreius’ film introduces a wide variety of middle-aged adults--a retired meteorologist, a blind man, the aforementioned paint dabber, and others--whose lives are comprised of equal parts passion and boredom. The director brothers capture both elements with grace and skill, but it’s the passion that makes the most lasting impression, particularly insofar as Gallic beauties Amira Casar, Hélène de Saint-Père, and Azéma are concerned. Merely modeling in the nude has these three lovebirds cooing.