Love stories have arrived on screen in all forms and with various plot ideas, but Yes is a different and compelling film which, on the outside, examines cultural and political differences while underneath questioning desire, limitations, love and mortality.

Joan Allen plays SHE, an Irish-American woman working in London as a molecular biologist who discovers her husband (Sam Neill) has been unfaithful. The same atmosphere in her home, a place devoid of anything warm, personal or any emotional presence reflects her cold sterile work environment.

When SHE accompanies her husband to a formal dinner, this woman is still reeling from the shock of discovery about her husband. HE (Simon Abkarian), the Lebanese chef in charge of the event, notices her discomfort, seeks her out and remarks about her beauty. SHE warms to the way he makes her laugh, and for a moment HE feels a connection to someone, unlike when only moments before HE was sparring with this kitchen mates over his cultural beliefs.

SHE and HE begin a passionate romance, one that starts out as an ordinary affair and soon develops into an obsession for them both. They become the river that quenches each other’s thirst and the entity that fills each other’s barrenness. The romance is done so well on screen that it sweeps viewers up completely. Credit for this goes to writer/director Sally Potter for her unusual structure of the film and also to Allen and Abkarian for their remarkable performances.

Potter began writing the screenplay after 9/11 in her quest to eliminate an atmosphere of hate and fear by turning to a story about love. Uniquely, part of the dialogue is delivered in rhyme. However, by the time it’s first used in dialogue between HE and SHE, it’s so subliminal, the passion of the romance is so predominant and the words so beautiful, it’s barely noticeable.

“It gives a freedom to speak from a complete truthful impulse,” explained Potter. “It wasn’t designed to draw attention to itself but simply to allow the characters to speak more fully about the experience of their lives.”

As the romance continues, HE becomes more aware that he cannot remain isolated from his heritage. He was a surgeon in Beirut who fled the country rather than be ordered to treat only certain people. When a major argument unfolds between HE and SHE, it’s done in rhyme, as if to soften the sting of the words and the implications of what they both must do. HE packs and departs from the country, leaving SHE devastated and weak, something she’s never been in her life.

Other aspects of the film accentuate the story’s purity. The music variations -- everything from B. B. King and Chopin to Tom Watts and Middle Eastern tunes -- effectively set the moods for the different worlds of London, Beirut, Cuba and Ireland, all places the story journeys through.

Director of photography Alexei Rodionov goes all out to authentic the story with his insight and skill in lighting and shooting the film. His decision to change film speeds and kinds of camera comes off well. There are moments in the bedroom scenes when the camera circles the lovers like a jealous paramour, and the sexual tension escalates.

An underlying theme of a micro vs. macro world runs throughout this film -- micro representing the world of science and every bit of dirt in our lives as observed by SHE’s cleaning lady (played hilariously by Shirley Henderson) and macro referring to the world at large with its wars and clash of fundamentalisms.

Joan Allen and Simon Abkarian are both exceptional in their roles. Abkarian, a French stage and film actor from Paris, speaks Arabic, French, Armenian and English. “I met him in an audition for another film and thought he would be wonderful in this role,” explained Potter. “He was, and he actually became a part of the research as well.”

An actor of Lebanese and American heritage, Abkarian could identify with the struggles of his character and feels the film is very important. “It’s important what you say in regards to the theme of the film, but as an actor, it’s also important in the way you say it. Sally’s way of telling the story puts you in the state of being the creator instead of being an interpreter.”

Abkarian, who eloquently finds the emotional heartbeat of his character, explained how he allowed that to happen. “When you feel wounded, and we all feel wounded in our lives, it either becomes something that falls into the dark side, the angry side, or it becomes a book where you can learn and make it come out in a different form. It was sometimes difficult for me to open that secret garden but knowing that it would be transformed into something that allows a conversation between an American woman and my character was worth it.”

Joan Allen is an acclaimed actress whose work in The Contender, The Crucible and Nixon earned her three Oscar nominations. Even though this was his first English-language film, Abkarian said he was not intimidated to work with Allen.

“Joan is very generous,” he said. “She’s dedicated to her work and because she’s an intelligent actor she works with her partner, and we understood we had to work together. She’s inspiring and makes you get close to the work.”

Allen and Abkarian both work hard in Yes to reveal the truth about their characters. “Working with Simon was a joyful experience,” said Allen. “Working on our relationship was wonderful, and I think a lot of that was because we have both had extensive theater backgrounds. There’s that sense of -- the most important thing -- which is the story, and I think we both approached our work in a similar way, so interesting things happened.”

This story about an American woman falling in love with a Middle Eastern man and finding out how love transcends their differences makes a truly absorbing and enjoyable film.

(Released by Sony Pictures Classics and rated “R” for language and some sexual content.)

Read Diana Saenger’s interview with Joan Allen.