Customer Reviews

C'est la Vie

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

During the late 50s Frédérique and Sophie, two sisters 13 and eight years old, are sent with a governess to spend their summer in Brittany. Their parents never disclose why they are not going to Brittany with them, but the secret cannot be kept from the children. As the film unfolds the children commit several shenanigans when failing parental supervision surrounds them, however, one day Frédérique trips on the secret of why the parents did not come with them to Brittany it changes her view of life. C'est La Vie is an interesting "coming of age" film where the audience follows the summer of two young girls containing friends, love, adventure, and betrayal. The story intrigues through humor and tragedy, which ends up being a pleasing cinematic experience.

I saw this movie back in the mid 90's on Bravo, before it sold out and went commercial. I really enjoyed this film, it is very simple and believable, I felt I was on holiday with this family. This is like as Sunday afternoon movie you would put on and relax and watch.

I have watched this movie 3 times. Once with no subtitles, once with the english subtitles, and lastly again without subtitles. I'm sure I'll watch it again. This film is very good, but especially if you have experienced your youth, or adulthood in a similar situation.

*Potential Spoiler*

The scene toward the end when the husband confronts the wife after seeing the coaster, when frederique screams, "je me tuerai!" Its very difficult to watch, but probably the best scene in the film.

A great film, althought serious in nature, could be viewed by the whole family. I recomend though, if you dont understand french you probably wont appreciate the film as much.

Apparently this is a companion piece to director Diane Kurys' masterpiece, Entre Nous. This film is set in Brittany in the summer of 1958 and it is a spot-on depiction of that era and the trauma that a divorce can inflict on children. It really nails childhood's not-so-innocent behaviors-sneaking and smoking cigarettes, playing doctor, and vandelism. It also does an excellent job with awakening puberty and the loss of beloved pets.

The cast is just super, the simple costumes exude French style, and the sets really are well done. It offers a compassionate look at the lives of two people who can no longer be married. Your heart aches for the young protagonists watching their life fall apart. I was honestly most affected by the ability of these modest income folks being able to afford to spend the summer at the seashore with friends and family, of eating fresh seafood and swimming in surf.

Set in late 1950s France, C'est la Vie is centered upon the loveless marriage shared by the workhorse Michel and his wife Lena who seems to have found a new lover who is almost twenty years her junior. Planning on going to Brittany, France for summer vacation, Lena tricks her children Frédérique and Sophie to go alone to their destination with their young nanny Odette before she and her husband depart. Less than thrilled to be traveling alone with their nanny and disliking the summer home of Mr. Ruffier, who sets up a number of rules and who along with his wife stay in the home's basement, Frédérique and Sophie rebel against Odette by doing such things as ignoring her and tossing their laxatives, it seems their parents want them to poop twice a day, into the fish tank. Their summer might have been truly unbearable if it was not for the fact that their mother's longtime friend Bella and her family had not come to vacation in Brittany.

Frédérique, our narrator, is a budding young woman whose newfound sexuality is slowly seeping into her life mainly through the figure of Bella's son Daniel who she has a major crush on. However, after Daniel kisses her for the first time, she loses interest in him and spends a good portion of her time writing in her diary and playing with her sister Sophie who is busy discovering the differences between male and females with Rene, Daniel's younger brother. Things improve in the vacation home when Lena arrives, but where is Michel? Also, it seems that Jean-Claude, Lena's lover, has proposed to her and asked her to accompany him to America? Will she go?

C'est la Vie is a slow, quiet film depicting a time that has been enveloped by the sands of history. Sexual awakening, divorce, and broken relationships all are major themes within the film, and each are handled with eloquence and poise that is found lacking in many other films that tackle similar themes. A good film for French cinema fans.

This film set on the beaches of Brittany, is an engaging story that shows the pleasure and pain of adolcence. During the summer of 1958 two sisters, 13 and 8, are too much for their governess too handle. There spirited antics take them from pranks to real trouble. But neither of the girls are ready for the path that their mother has chosen. Diane Kurys did a wounderful job directing this film.

I have seen this movie on the German TV yesterday with the title: "A summer at the sea" and I was deeply impressed.

Despite that it was produced in 1990, the theme is more up-to-date than ever. Excellent actors of all ages performed very well indeed, a great story, some romantic spots and lovely music will make you thinking about the relationship of children to their parents, their pain and childish emotions which often get hurt.

This story could happen today, next month or the following year, next door of you .. or at any other location or country. So you will get nothing NEW out of that movie but the sad reality of daily life in the eyes of children whose parents can't behave.

I only can highly recommend this movie - buy the DVD and you will enjoy it definitively more than just one time.

I saw this movie and I found it both shocking and choking. It displays children as young as 4 years old smoking cigarettes! Did the filmmakers take into account the damage tobacco could have done to these child stars? (Yes, the cigarettes and the smoke were real, not CG.) I think they should have omitted such scenes from the script, because it displays a behavior that's not only illegal in several countries, but also threatening to both society and childhood. No matter what the other reviewers thought about the movie, I give it a disgusting 1, and this is the last movie I ever watch that depicts smoking children. To those that haven't yet watched this movie, please DON'T WATCH IT, unless you want cancer to win the health wars.
And here I hand out a lesson for every active or aspiring moviemaker: if you want to depict smoking children, use COMPUTER GRAPHICS instead of the REAL THING!