Thomas (voice of Benoit Verhaert--he never shows his face on screen), a 32-year-old agoraphobe (he is afraid of going outside), never leaves his apartment, nor does anyone from the outside world ever enter it. For eight straight years, Thomas has neither left his apartment nor received any guests--not the vacuum cleaner repair man, not the food service delivery man, not a "medical prostitute" paid for by the government to comfort him through his handicap, not even his own mother (Micheline Hardy). He conducts all communication with the outside world through his computer, which is equipped with a "visiophone" that allows Thomas to view his interlocutors on screen. Because of this popular form of visual communication, people adorn their faces with decals and tattoos, wearing innovative hairstyles and decorating their apartments with bright colors that will show up on screen. However, the distance created by these technologies allows Thomas the guiltless ability to be rude and abrupt in fending people off. For intimacy he turns to his cybersex fantasy, Clara, who resides in an animated computer program called Sextoon. Thomas's shrink (Frédéric Topart) tries to help by enrolling him in a cyberspace dating club through which Thomas meets many interesting women--all of whom lose interest the moment he informs them of his agoraphobic state. Finally, when he meets the woman of his dreams, Eva (Aylin Yay), and falls in love, he is faced with the ultimate challenge: does he love her enough to venture outside and meet her face to face?
Original Production Year: 2000.
Theatrical Release Date: AUGUST 3, 2001 (LIMITED)
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Stars
Aylin Yay: Actress, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Migali Pinglault: Actress, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Micheline Hardy: Actress, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Alexandre von Sivers: Actor, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Frédéric Topart: Actor, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Serge Lariviere: Actor, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Director
Pierre Paul Renders: Director, THOMAS IN LOVE (2000)
Producer
Diana Elbaum: Producer, THOMAS IN LOVE (2000)
Karin Schayes: Producer, THOMAS IN LOVE (2000)
Associate Producer
Jacques Bidou: Executive Producer, LUMUMBA (2000)
Screenwriter
Philippe Blasband: AN AFFAIR OF LOVE, MAX ET BOBO
Costume Designer
Annie Fournier: Costume Designer
Director of Photography
Virginie Saint-Martin: AN AFFAIR OF LOVE
Voice
Benoit Verhaert: Actor, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Computer Graphics
Sparx: Animation and Digital Effects, THOMAS IN LOVE (2001)
Review 1:
"...A wry futuristic fantasy that contains a provocative commentary on current trends and obsessions....Ingeniously sustained..."
Source: Movieline's Hollywood Life
p.38 08/01/2001
Review 2:
"...Renders ingeniously conjures the image of a control-freak society that is sinister in its very playfulness..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.48 08/17/2001
Review 3:
"...[The film] starts gently, with amusing drollness, then gets more serious, even provocative without sacrificing its light touch..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.10 08/03/2001