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The Things of Life

Original title: Les choses de la vie
  • 19701970
  • GPGP
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
5.1K
YOUR RATING
Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli in The Things of Life (1970)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer1:30
2 Videos
18 Photos
DramaRomance
A highway engineer is involved in a car crash, after which, near death, he remembers his life leading up to the accident.A highway engineer is involved in a car crash, after which, near death, he remembers his life leading up to the accident.A highway engineer is involved in a car crash, after which, near death, he remembers his life leading up to the accident.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
5.1K
YOUR RATING
    • Claude Sautet
  • Writers
    • Sandro Continenza(dialogue: Italian version)
    • Jean-Loup Dabadie(adaptation and dialogue)
    • Paul Guimard(novel)
  • Stars
    • Michel Piccoli
    • Romy Schneider
    • Gérard Lartigau
    • Claude Sautet
  • Writers
    • Sandro Continenza(dialogue: Italian version)
    • Jean-Loup Dabadie(adaptation and dialogue)
    • Paul Guimard(novel)
  • Stars
    • Michel Piccoli
    • Romy Schneider
    • Gérard Lartigau
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 19User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:30
    Watch Official Trailer
    The Things of Life
    Trailer 1:30
    Watch The Things of Life

    Photos18

    Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli in The Things of Life (1970)
    Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli in The Things of Life (1970)
    Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli in The Things of Life (1970)
    The Things of Life (1970)
    The Things of Life (1970)
    The Things of Life (1970)
    The Things of Life (1970)
    The Things of Life (1970)
    The Things of Life (1970)
    Michel Piccoli in The Things of Life (1970)
    The Things of Life (1970)
    Romy Schneider in The Things of Life (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michel Piccoli
    Michel Piccoli
    • Pierre Bérard
    Romy Schneider
    Romy Schneider
    • Hélène
    Gérard Lartigau
    • Bertrand Bérard
    Jean Bouise
    Jean Bouise
    • François
    Boby Lapointe
    • Le bétailleur
    Hervé Sand
    • Le camionneur
    Jacques Richard
    • L'infirmier
    Betty Beckers
    • L'autostoppeuse
    Dominique Zardi
    Dominique Zardi
    • L'autostoppeur
    Gabrielle Doulcet
    • Guitte
    Roger Crouzet
    • Le promoteur
    Henri Nassiet
    • M. Bérard, le père de Pierre
    Claude Confortès
    • Le docteur
    Jerry Brouer
    • Le prétendant
    Jean Gras
    • Georges, le chef de chantier
    Marie-Pierre Casey
    • La postière
    Marcelle Arnold
    Marcelle Arnold
    • La mère d'Hélène
    Jean-Pierre Zola
    Jean-Pierre Zola
    • Le père d'Hélène
      • Claude Sautet
    • Writers
      • Sandro Continenza(dialogue: Italian version)
      • Jean-Loup Dabadie(adaptation and dialogue)
      • Paul Guimard(novel) (screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Cigarette count: 46
    • Goofs
      In the car crash scene, the stunt double for Michel Piccoli is seen wearing brown gloves in close-ups. However Piccoli is bare-handed while driving.
    • Quotes

      Hélène: Tu m'aimes parce que je suis là. Mais s'il faut traverser la rue pour me rejoindre tu es perdu.

    • Connections
      Featured in Claude Sautet ou La magie invisible (2003)

    User reviews19

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A center piece in the oeuvre of Claude Sautet
    "Les choses de la vie" is the ultimate "mid life crises" movie. A middle aged man must (but can not) choose between his younger girl friend on the one hand and his ex wife and son on the other hand. As a result he gets irritated and frustrated. He smokes heavily and drives aggressively.

    Michel Piccoli wonderfully impersonates this character (Pierre Berard). It was a good choice of television channel "Arte" to select this film in memory of Michel Piccoli, who died in may 2020 at the age of 94.

    "Les choses de la vie" also was the film in which director Claude Sautet changed from "crime" to "drama", and especially the drama of the middle class. He so became a sort of French Ozu. But where the middle aged Japanese man above all is interested in the marriages of his daughters (or the lack thereoff), the European middle aged man tries to prove that he is still capable by taking a younger mistress.

    Sautet tells the story in a peculiar chronological order. Center piece in the movie is a car accident with Pierre as its victim (after all he was driving aggressively). Just like a stone thrown in the water gives wrinklings moving in ever wider circles, the injured Pierre has memories that go further and further back in time. At the end there is no clear distinction anymore between memories and dreams.
    helpful•4
    0
    • frankde-jong
    • May 26, 2020

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 13, 1970 (France)
      • Switzerland
      • France
      • Italy
      • French
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Rue de Sèvres, Paris 7, Paris, France
    • Production companies
      • Fida Cinematografica
      • Lira Films
      • Sonocam
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 29 minutes
      • Mono

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