C'est quoi la vie? (1999)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

François Dupeyron

Writer:

François Dupeyron (written by)

Release Date:

8 September 1999 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Cow | Suicide

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Eric Caravaca	...	Nicolas
Jacques Dufilho	...	Noël, le grand-père
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Marc, le père
Isabelle Renauld	...	Maria
Michelle Goddet	...	Monique
Claudine Mavros	...	Laure
Elie Tazartes	...	Patty
Licino Da Silva	...	Rémy
Julie-Anne Roth	...	Pauline
Yves Verhoeven	...	Bruno
Marc Adjadj	...	André
Loïc Pichon	...	Albert
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claude Albouze	...	Père de Rémy
David Bouviala	...	Le Maire
Jocelyne Carmichael	...	Patronne d'epicerie
Ferdinand Dupeyron	...	Fils Randonneur
Patrick Durand
Patrick Durand
Philippe Frécon	...	Yvon
Benjamin Lombard	...	Fils randonneur
Christine Michel	...	Infirmière
Didier Rouchon	...	Père randonneur
Rebecca Rouchon	...	Mère randonneur
Anthony Soulié	...	Paul
Marina Soulié	...	Rose

Also Known As:

What's Life? (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA | Spain:T | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

Salomé

Soundtrack:

Improvisation au koto a 25 cordes (cithare japonaise)

Nice try, but not good enough

This movie about a young man coming to terms with his destiny as a farmer after his father commits suicide due to the pressure put on the agricultural sector with the madcow crisis etc etc has gone wrong on several points:

It was way too long. If this would have been about 90 minutes it would have been much more endurable, but in my opinion it just droned on and on, actually not going really anywhere.

The script. There are plotholes the size of a decent meteor crater here. Too much is left to guess for. The grandfather becomes this senile old man overnight... come on, and nobody even wonders why that is. What did the family do with the old farm? Did they sell it, abandon it, what is it? And the relationship of the young man with the older woman is kept from the audience way too long to become anything that amounts to anything.

Characterization. Almost all the characters are as flat as a dollar bill. Sure the mother has an affair. Grandpa becomes senile. But this doesn't make any impact on the audience, we just don't care. The little sister keeps dreaming of going to the big city, but that is just as far as that character goes. And the young man decides to retract into the mountains with his family to become a farmer, he has been kicking and screaming to get the hell out of there and all of a sudden he wants to get down in the pre-historic dirt like his father, oh please, give us a break.

On a more positive note there is the photography. This is all nicely shot, but after seeing the umpteenth sunset/rise and more trees in the mist this becomes a little stale.

Overall not a good movie, but I give a 6 for the effort.

6/10