Life is a Long Quiet River (1988)
"La vie est un long fleuve tranquille" (original title)

Two babies are switched at birth. When the mistake is discovered 12 years later, it leads to complications in the lives of both families. One family is affluent, with dutiful and (... See full summary »

Director:

Étienne Chatiliez

Writers:

Étienne Chatiliez, Florence Quentin

Stars:

Benoît Magimel, Valérie Lalande, Tara Römer

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benoît Magimel	...	Momo Groseille
Valérie Lalande	...	Bernadette Le Quesnoy
Tara Römer	...	Million Groseille (as Tara Romer)
Jérôme Floch	...	Toc-Toc Groseille
Sylvie Cubertafon	...	Ghislaine
Emmanuel Cendrier	...	Pierre Le Quesnoy
Guillaume Hacquebart	...	Paul Le Quesnoy
Jean-Brice Van Keer	...	Mathieu Le Quesnoy
Praline Le Moult	...	Emmanuelle Le Quesnoy
Axel Vicart	...	Franck
Claire Prévost	...	Roselyne Groseille
Hélène Vincent	...	Madame Marielle Le Quesnoy
André Wilms	...	Monsieur Jean Le Quesnoy
Christine Pignet	...	Madame Groseille
Maurice Mons	...	Monsieur Groseille

Storyline

Two babies are switched at birth. When the mistake is discovered 12 years later, it leads to complications in the lives of both families. One family is affluent, with dutiful and (apparently) contented children. The other family is poor, with rambunctious (even delinquent) children, often hungry, but with lots of laughter in the house.

---

Plot Keywords:

switched at birth | teenage girl in underwear | flanders | ravioli | monday | 

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

3 February 1988 (France)

Also Known As:

A Vida é um Longo Rio Tranquilo

Box Office

Gross:

$194,456 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), France 3 Cinéma, Investimage

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

France's most successful movie of 1988

---

Connections

References Sauvage et beau (1984)

---

Soundtracks

"Paris en colère"
Written by Maurice Jarre and Maurice Vidalin
Performed by Mireille Mathieu

User Reviews

I personally liked it!

I was quite surprised that many commenters didn't appreciate this film at all. I think you have to understand class differences in French society and the film's kind of satire in order to be able to enjoy the film. I personally loved it though I would have expected a real 'catastrophe' at the end. But I nevertheless liked the story and the characters, especially this very ridiculous, 'perfect' bourgeois family. I loved the scene where the father looks at the crying, completely desperate mother and the only thing that comes to his mind is to tell her: "Comme vous êtes belle ce soir!" (How beautiful you are this evening!)

Probably Americans are not so familiar with this kind of black, but also at times subtle humor and this is why the reactions were so bad.