Honestly, I have no idea what went on in Mon Amour, Mon Ami. At first I thought it was a forbidden love story in which borders separated the two main characters.
Then, I thought it was a fake love story where a couple sought to marry so the man could live in the country legally.
When only parts of those showed to be true, I came up with a third option: a broken love story where a man loves a woman who does not love him.
When the film ended, I realized each of my theories was correct in its own way, but also that the short movie was negligible regardless of the plot.
The most memorable part of Mon Amour, Mon Ami is sheerly the man’s appearance. While his looks are unique and captivating, the physical attributes of one of the main characters should not be the main focus of the film. Mon Amour, Mon Ami has much more potential with the stories of the characters that it should have used. I didn’t have a timer, but I swear half the film was just scenes of the man carrying wood for some reason. I don’t even know what he is doing with that wood. Does he work for a lumber company? Does he just like the rough touch of bark? Mon Amour, Mon Ami answers neither of these questions.
The basic plot of the film is the challenges two people face as they drift apart then back together. An Arabic man, Fouad is helplessly in love with an Italian woman, Daniela, but she does not return the feeling. Throughout the film, Fouad wanders aimlessly, living in dire conditions as Daniela doesn’t really do anything besides sit around. An audience member could achieve the same effect this film gives off if she simply looks out the window and picks an ordinary person to watch for 10 minutes. While both Fouad and Daniela have more profound lives than just sitting around or dropping wood, Mon Amour, Mon Ami fails to present their stories effectively.
At the end of the movie, the camera follows Fouad as he decides to take a long wire and put big LED lights into trees onto a mountain. I’m not sure how he found a wire that long but the logistics don’t matter when the purpose of filming Fouad’s engineering side doesn’t present itself at all.
Last I checked, Fouad was still emo because Daniela doesn’t love him back and won’t marry him, but I guess if he copes by putting lights into trees that’s his decision. Regardless of the stupid lights, Fouad and Daniela both discover that they need each other. Daniela needs Fouad because she’s lonely and Fouad needs Daniela for citizenship and because he’s fallen in love with her.
Though both try to move on, they drift back together in one way or another because no matter how much Daniela resents Fouad, she needs him. This sheer human connection is seldom seen in media anymore, and the basic human emotion of love is prominent no matter the circumstances, love will prevail. Mon Amour, Mon Ami feels toward the core concept of love without taking into account all of the fighting factors around Fouad and Daniela’s relationship. When the circumstances are stripped away, Mon Amour, Mon Ami tells the story of humans making mistakes and finding their way back to what matters most.
Regardless of the redeeming qualities and feel-good aspects of the movie, however, Mon Amour, Mon Ami still makes little sense and lost a lot of potential by taking a confusing angle instead of diving deeper into why Daniela doesn’t love Fouad, and why Fouad loves Daniela. By answering simple questions, audience members might have throughout the film, Mon Amour, Mon Ami could clear up worlds of confusion and not leave the audience reflecting only on why Fouad put a bunch of lights into trees on the side of a mountain.