La vie de bohème (1992)

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writers:

Aki Kaurismäki (writer)
Henri Murger (novel)

Release Date:

29 July 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Artists' life in Paris

Plot Keywords:

Paris France | Based On Novel

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Matti Pellonpää	...	Rodolfo
Evelyne Didi	...	Mimi
André Wilms	...	Marcel
Kari Väänänen	...	Schaunard
Christine Murillo	...	Musette
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Blancheron
Laika	...	Baudelaire
Carlos Salgado	...	Garcon de café
Alexis Nitzer	...	Henri Bernard
Sylvie Van den Elsen	...	Mme. Bernard
Gilles Charmant	...	Groupe rock
Dominique Marcas	...	Brocanteuse
Samuel Fuller	...	Gassot
Jean-Paul Wenzel	...	Francis
Louis Malle	...	Gentleman

Also Known As:

Boheemielämää (Finland)
Bohemernas liv (Sweden)
Bohemian Life
Das Leben der Boheme (Germany)

Runtime:

Germany:100 min | Sweden:103 min | USA:100 min

Country:

France | Germany | Sweden | Finland

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Sputnik

Trivia:

Neither Matti Pellonpää or Kari Väänänen could speak any french in real life. The script contained instructions how to pronounce the lines.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Limits of Control (2009)

Soundtrack:

Yuki no furu machi o (Town of Falling Snow)

Surprisingly faithful to its source material

Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's black and white adaptation of Scene de la Vie de Boheme (originally a non fiction book by Henri de Murger dealing with the lives of the starving bohemian artists of the Paris of the first decades of the 19th century, and later a famous opera by Puccini) is surprisingly faithful to its source material, despite its modern settings. The place is still Paris, and the film closely follows both the book and the opera, with the proud but poor artists living at the day to day to survive in the city of lights. We even have the famous burning of the manuscripts to get some heat during the cold winter. The late Matti Pellonpaa, a Kaurismaki regular, stars as Rodolfo, as well as other less known, but equally fine actors (the actress playing Mimi, however, fails to create an impression). There are a couple of cameos by Nouvelle Vague faves Jean-Pierre Leaud and Samuel Fuller. Note: Later, Rent, a less accomplished modern retelling of La Vie de Boheme, this time set on New York City, was also produced, first on stage, and later on film.