{"id":198,"date":"2026-05-19T04:35:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T04:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=198"},"modified":"2026-05-19T04:35:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T04:35:04","slug":"words-of-love-review-french-filmmaker-rudi-rosenberg-sensitively-captures-the-chaos-and-compassion-of-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=198","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Words of Love\u2019 Review: French Filmmaker Rudi Rosenberg Sensitively Captures the Chaos and Compassion of Family"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tFor his sophomore feature \u201cWords of Love,\u201d director Rudi Rosenberg makes a sensitive family drama about the fraught relationship between a mother and a daughter. Abiga\u00eblle has never met her father and trying to make that connection becomes an obsession of hers \u2014 and while her mother, Erika, is supportive, she is also wary of how her wayward ex might affect her daughter\u2019s psyche. Rosenberg crafts these two characters with realistic resonance, though his film veers into sentimentality and some plot points are too coincidental to be entirely believable. Yet somehow, by the end, the result is both moving and captivating.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=196\">\u2018Strawberries\u2019 Review: Moroccan Women in Spain\u2019s Agricultural Industry Are Exploited by a Callous System in a Potent but Flawed Drama<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tErika (Hafsia Herzi) has two kids from different fathers that she\u2019s raising almost all by herself. She\u2019s too busy and hurried to notice some of the problems that both her children are having socially and at school. Yet Abiga\u00eblle\u2019s obsession with finding her father looms large on the family and strains the relationships between siblings and mother. In pining for her missing dad, Abiga\u00eblle (played at seven by\u00a0Ella Bedoucha and at 14 by Nour Salam) cannot see the love offered by her mother and brother. <\/p>\n<p>\n\tAbiga\u00eblle has no memories of the father in question, who never wanted children, and abandoned her and her mother without looking back. Her brother Yoni (played at five by A\u00efdan Djouadi and at 12 by Charlie Lugassy) maintains a relationship with his father despite his parents\u2019 separation. In a poignant early scene, Abiga\u00eblle tags along with Erika and Yoni as they visit his big, rambunctious paternal family. The longing in her eyes to belong to a unit larger than just her mother and brother is clear, her pain palpable.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tRosenberg sets his drama in two periods in the 1990s in the north Parisian enclave of Sarcelles, setting many scenes in its busy streets. That gives the film a distinctive sensibility of time and location. There are no cellphones, the soundtrack is peppered with tunes from the era and a major plot point hinges on the family getting an answering machine. In addition to his eye for period-appropriate costumes and production design, Rosenberg has a deft ear for dialogue that flows in the way people actually talk, in varying, interrupting rhythms. This is especially apparent in scenes with multiple characters speaking, recalling 1930s American screwball comedies with a dash of French realism.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=194\">\u2018Full Phil\u2019 Review: With Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart Locked in a Father-Daughter Hatefest, Will Quentin Dupieux\u2019s Latest Bizarro-World Lark Be His Crossover Movie?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tIn one scene where a particular piece of information needs to be delivered, four of the film\u2019s characters are on the phone in two locations. At least two of them are withholding part of the truth, while the other two are eager to know more details. All four keep impatiently cutting each other off, snatching the phone back and forth. As the scene unfolds, Rosenberg lays into the comedy, yet beneath the surface lies the tragedy of the film. Aided by Bruno Tracq\u2019s nimble editing, the scene exemplifies the film\u2019s occasionally thrilling match of comedy and drama.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n\tSome of the concurrent plots to the main narrative are too on the nose, and the film suffers from some earnestness, particularly where two young characters and a cute dog are involved. However there\u2019s enough pathos and real emotion to make \u201cWords of Love\u201d\u00a0 affecting, thanks mainly to the two central performances by Salam and Herzi. <\/p>\n<p>\n\tSalam, in her debut, is a real find, anchoring the film with a strong performance full of anger, hurt and disappointment, while remaining a character the audience can connect with. If Rosenberg is a man of words, then Herzi is a master of silence. While Erika has plenty to say, it\u2019s the actor\u2019s piercing yet gentle stare that tells us all the character is feeling, beautifully telegraphing her inner monologue.\u00a0In the end, Rosenberg\u2019s film answers the question of what makes a family. In Abiga\u00eblle\u2019s journey towards acceptance, the audience is given a tender portrait of familial love that\u2019s both moving and entertaining. \u201cWords of Love\u201d may lean into mawkishness at times, but its emotional sincerity lingers in the mind.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=192\">\u2018Game Changer\u2019 Host Sam Reich on What Got Cut From Season 8 Premiere\u2019s Censor-Heavy Episode, Including Jeremy Culhane\u2019s \u2018SNL\u2019 Joke<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>\n<p>\t\t\u2018Words of Love\u2019 Review: French Filmmaker Rudi Rosenberg Sensitively Captures the Chaos and Compassion of Family<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<h2>\n<p>\t\tReviewed at Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard), May 14, 2026. Running time: 95 MIN. (Original title: &#8220;Quelques mots d&#8217;amour&#8221;)<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<strong>Production:<\/strong><br \/>\n(France) A Chi Fou Mi Productions production. (World sales: Studiocanal, Paris.) Producer: Hugo S\u00e9lignac.\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Crew:<\/strong><br \/>\nDirector, screenplay: Rudi Rosenberg. Camera: Eric Dumont. Editor: Bruno Tracq, Delphine Genest.\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>With:<\/strong><br \/>\nHafsia Herzi, Nour Salam, Ella Bedoucha, A\u00efdan Djouadi, Mateo Danila, Charlie Lugassy, Eden Sarfati, Paulette Chetrit, Jacques Sebban, Stephan Chargeboeuf. \t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Music By:<\/strong><br \/>\nYom, Chapelier Fou.\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hafsia Herzi stars in Rudi Rosenberg&#8217;s Cannes Un Certain Regard entry &#8216;Words of Love,&#8217; as a single mother trying to keep her family together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,235,236],"class_list":["post-198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-cannes-film-festival","tag-rudi-rosenberg","tag-words-of-love"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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