C'est la vie - So sind wir, so ist das Leben

Watched this at a London preview screening

This was a cleverly structured drama depicting a lengthy span of a family's life by rolling the events of one day in each phase of their lives. Its so well done that you really care about how their lives pan out. I felt it conveyed a message that life is too short to waste, so make the most of it. Bizarrely though, there's one message that seems rather twisted, you can only really enjoy yourself if you smoke something with a bit of kick in it! OK..I'll go try that...

How their lives pan out can be a tad predictable because this has been done before. But this movie rolls with so much panache, drama, nostalgia, a superb soundtrack, and lots of humour. In fact I laughed out loud a few times. The performances are uniformly excellent, especially the actor playing the father. He doesn't say much but you can read so much in his subtle expressions.

I think this is a film that has got such a universal appeal which most people can relate to in some way. Its highly entertaining and very well paced.

I must say I've seen a lot of movies but rarely I feel so much drawn into this kind of stories. Believe me, it's a sign of a good movie!

I immediately saw great camera angles and this follows the film throughout. I love the movement of the camera, following the story acted out by good actors in a script that is funny and well written. On top of that, the film has a great musical score.

We go right into what is an average French family. Man and wife and two grown up kids. Time to have a life crisis or four. Mum and dad is no longer having sex, the daughter feels estranged and the son procrastinating. More shouldn't be told, though it's an everyday story from a French middle class family.

The film is funny, still it's able to balance into both sentimentality as swell as sadness. Typically French, but in a good way. The latter years I think the French film industry has turned out a lot of great films, and again French film is something you awaits the best from. This is another example of such a film. Well done!

Yes we've already watched this kind of movie... Yes the different "life issues" and/or "family issues" that are exposed are quite classic...

But I really enjoyed watching this movie. The actors and actresses are very good, the musical atmosphere is great too, and the situations or dialogs made me laughed quite often.

It's a typical french movie, describing the different parts of a human life, from first life experiments to "old age" crises. The love that exists in the family looks real, pure, and is stronger than all the ordeals the different family members will encounter.

A real sweet time I had by watching this movie, you can go!

I thought that "THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE" (aka "Le premier jour du reste de ta vie") was a thoroughly enjoyable movie … it is a film that I would contemplate seeing again … (and maybe again!) ….

Well written and superbly directed by Remi Bezancon, "The first day… " is a French film (with subtitles) telling the tale of a close knit family over a period of twelve years … and especially focusing on five individual crucial days in particular over that period that changed the course of the families life for ever …

I just liked everything about this film, the casting was superb, the music great, the way the story moved along was brisk and to the point … and you felt at one with the family … at some points I was very moved … at others I laughed out loud … there wasn't a bad thing to say about this movie ...

A special mention should go the actors playing the main Duval family members – such good believable actors … the Father - Robert (Jacques Gamblin), the Mother Marie-Jeanne (Zabou Breitman), their Daughter Fleur (Deborah Francois), and their two sons Raphael (Marc-Andre Grondin) and Albert (Pio Marmai) – I'm sure that there will be many more good things to come from these actors (and the director) in the future …

This film is a joy … you share the hardships and the highlights and get totally immersed in the family and their circumstances …

"THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE" is released on 20th November, and is thoroughly recommended

Realistic, funny, honest, gritty with fantastic music! What more could you ask for? I wish I could find the soundtrack for this as each song fits each moment perfectly (whichever emotion it is trying to portray).

I found myself caught between laughing & (almost) crying throughout the entire film. I am sure each person can relate to something in at least one of the characters... the angsty rebellious teenager, the hopeless romantic, the 'drop out', the couple who has fallen out of love and the doctor who is stuck in a job he doesn't love and a relationship he is not happy in.

The acting in this movie is simply fantastic.

It is structured around five key moments in a family's life and is such a fun, inspiring movie which plays with all of the different relationships between father & son, mother & daughter and of course, husband & wife.

It may sound intense or grim, but in fact I found this film to be (along with some intense moments of course), full of light and fluffy feel-good moments too.

You will see each character's different perspective on life and how they grow, which makes interesting watching. From the start to the end, I just loved it.

Don't be put off by the subtitles - you don't need to understand French to understand this wonderful movie!