La vie et rien d'autre (1989)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Bertrand Tavernier

Writers:

Jean Cosmos (scenario & adaptation) &
Bertrand Tavernier (scenario & adaptation) ...

Release Date:

6 September 1989 (France)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Un monument!

Plot:

Intense character study of men and women driven by an overpowering obsession with the past.

Plot Keywords:

Missing In Action | Unknown Soldier | 1920s | French Soldier | French Army

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Philippe Noiret	...	Major Delaplane
Sabine Azéma	...	Irène de Courtil
Pascale Vignal	...	Alice
Maurice Barrier	...	Mercadot
François Perrot	...	Perrin
Jean-Pol Dubois	...	André
Daniel Russo	...	Lieutenant Trévise
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Général Villerieux
Arlette Gilbert	...	Valentine
Louis Lyonnet	...	Valentin
Charlotte Maury-Sentier	...	Cora Mabel (as Charlotte Maury)
François Caron	...	Julien
Thierry Gimenez	...	L'adjudant du génie
Frédérique Meininger	...	Madame Lebègue
Pierre Trabaud	...	Eugene Dilatoire

Also Known As:

Life and Nothing But (International: English title)

Runtime:

USA:135 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | Germany:12

Company:

Hachette Première

Quotes:

[Irene de Courtil reacts to an explosion]
Irène de Courtil: It's as if the war was still on.
Major Dellaplane: You saw the war from afar. War is worse, so much worse. Acres and acres covered with rotting cadavers, no trees, fly-covered heads sticking out of waterholes... It stinks. Swarming with rats...
Irène de Courtil: Shut up!
Major Dellaplane: We do nothing but shut up! Who'd listen to us anyway? Who'd print it? The newspapers want only lies and official idiocy. "The war's devastating allure only appears to be destructive." I read that. Signed: General Cherfils. One million five hundred thousand deaths only appear to be dead. Bastards! Bastards!

It worked for me

I watched La vie et rien d'autre, about a year ago. Well, it stuck with me. And I really wanted to see it again. So I watched it a second time. And some things became clearer to me. The central message obviously that war sucks, that war is a disaster for everybody. And nothing should be done to hide this truth from anybody. That's Delaplane's belief, that's his fight, his moral code. And yes, there is a love story coming to interfere with his dull and depressing duty. Why people can't see that a man such as Delaplane could not handle love, specially while in the middle of such an ugly struggle? I read some negative comments about this film. I just could not understand that. This is a beautiful movie, touching, a bit slow certainly, but the topic does require that we take time to learn all the details so as to better understand the nature of this human drama. What pushes all these people to look for remnants of their loved ones, just to have proof of their death. For what? This we may never understand for not having to live through this. Go ahead, watch this movie. It's not a big action movie, no, it's a reflection movie. A movie that a lot of people who see war as something that's glamorous should have seen, but probably never will... alas!