My Golden Days (2015)

Paul is preparing to leave Tajikistan, while thinking back on his adolescent years. His childhood, his mother's madness, the parties, the trip to the USSR where he lost his virginity, the friend who betrayed him and the love of his life.

Director:

Arnaud Desplechin

Writers:

Arnaud Desplechin (screenplay), Julie Peyr (screenplay)

Stars:

Quentin Dolmaire, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, Mathieu Amalric

4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Quentin Dolmaire	...	Paul Dédalus (adolescent)
Lou Roy-Lecollinet	...	Esther
Mathieu Amalric	...	Paul Dédalus (adulte)
Dinara Drukarova	...	Irina
Cécile Garcia-Fogel	...	Jeanne Dédalus, la mère
Françoise Lebrun	...	Rose
Irina Vavilova	...	Mme Sidorov
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Abel Dédalus, le père
Elyot Milshtein	...	Marc Zylberberg
Pierre Andrau	...	Kovalki
Lily Taieb	...	Delphine Dédalus
Raphaël Cohen	...	Ivan Dédalus
Kheifets Gregory	...	Nathan
Clémence Le Gall	...	Pénélope
Théo Fernandez	...	Bob

Storyline

Paul is preparing to leave Tajikistan, while thinking back on his adolescent years. His childhood, his mother's madness, the parties, the trip to the USSR where he lost his virginity, the friend who betrayed him and the love of his life.

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Plot Keywords:

love | madness | male rear nudity | male nudity | concert | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexual content, graphic nudity, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

French Russian Hebrew

Release Date:

18 March 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Golden Days

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$26,847 (USA) (18 March 2016)

Gross:

$65,743 (USA) (25 March 2016)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Why Not Productions, France 2 Cinéma, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument (1996)

User Reviews

Nothing new, but well worth watching nonetheless

The main impression I gained about 'My Golden Days' is a bit more care could have been taken in casting the three actors who play the lead character - at least far as looks go. When we first meet him, Paul Dédalus, a French diplomat, is played by Mathieu Amalric, with his distinctive, 'lived-in' face. We then see him as a child played by Antoine Bui - who is facially so similar to Amalric they could be related. But as a young man, Paul is played by the handsome Quentin Dolmaire, who looks nothing like Amalric and Bui. If Bui didn't look so similar to Amalric this aberration wouldn't be so noticeable.

But anyway, the story: returning to France after almost a decade abroad, Paul comes to the attention of the intelligence services because someone with the same name and date of birth has been discovered in Australia. As Paul is questioned, we flashback to his childhood living with his lesbian aunt, to an eventful trip to the Soviet Union and to his student life, but most of all we examine his relationship with the captivating Esther, whom he wins over with his pseudo-intellectual gobbledy-gook.

Young Paul is that staple of French cinema, the student who spends too much time thinking. Esther is that other overly-used staple, the unhinged woman. This sort-of prequel to director Arnaud Desplechin's 1996 'My Sex Life... or how I got into an Argument' contains nothing that can't be found in hundreds of other French films. But there's good acting all around; Dolmaire and, as Esther, Lou Roy-Collinet are easy on the eye and their cast of supporting characters interesting. If I have any complaint, it's that I would have liked more - or indeed, any

• explanation as to why the child Paul disliked his mother so much, and

perhaps more screen time for Amalric - he appears several times in-between the flashbacks of the first third of the film, then suddenly disappears for the rest of it; it's quite noticeable. Where did he go?