Dans la vie

Dans La Vie is one of the French comedy selected under the screening of Singapore French Film Festival 2009. The 73 minutes comedy directed by Philippe Faucon is short, simple yet interesting. Compared to other commercial French comedies, Dans La Vie tackles race and religion, and using it as a main selling point of the film.

Dans La Vie surrounds three characters: Esther (Ariane Jacquot), Selima (Sabrin Ben Abdalla) and Halima (Zohra Mouffok). Esther is a middle-aged Jewish handicapped woman, who was nursed by Selima, a Arabic nurse. When Esther's eccentric behavior drives her former caretaker away, Selima introduces her mother, Halima,a Muslim, to work as the caretaker. When Esther's only son is committed to work that forces Esther to stay with Halima under one roof, conflict arises that bonds both Esther and Halima together.

Dans La Vie tackles the conflicts between the Jews and Muslims without hurting one another's race and religion. It is a simple story that sends a message to the audience that there are differences in every race and religion, but with tolerance and acceptance, it creates harmony. And it is true that the message is spread to the audience.

With the cast mainly consist of females, it seems to be more of a weekday matinée soap comedy on the TV. With only 73 minutes, there are many more issues that has yet to be covered, such as how the bonds between Esther and Halima were formed, why Halima insisted in going to Mecca for pilgrim without the assistant of her children and more. As a audience, one might feel short charged for paying a full price ticket to Dans La Vie. It is good that Dans La Vie gets a release in theater, but it seems to be more suitable for DVD release.

Give it a try if you are looking for a comedy with a new angle and you do not have much time to spare.