La vie devant soi

A powerful drama directed by the Egyptian Moshé Mizrahi, adapted by himself from Émile Ajar's (Romain Gary) novel "The Life Before Us", winner of the Goncourt Prize and one of the greatest successes of French literature of the 20th century. It also earned Mizrahi the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1978 and Signoret the César for best actress.

A belated but profoundly human realism, passed among the prostitutes and transsexuals of Pigalle, among Muslims, Jews and Christians, among Nigerians, Vietnamese and Algerians, all united in the struggle for survival and above all in the human condition, which surpasses all differences and unites all peoples and races.

A humanist and deeply inclusive work, avant la lettre, with a memorable performance by Simone Signoret.

Am I the only one who mourns the passing of Channel Four and its culture mission in its formative launch under Jeremy Isaacs? Quite apart from classical music and dance, the late night schedule included films such as Madame Rosa and La Maschera, La Nuit de Varennes and Collard's Les Nuits Fauves. Acclaimed film based on an acclaimed novel (part autobiographical) from an author with the ego and genius of a Latin Hemingway, it turns on the plight of a child on the backstreets of Marseilles and the down to earth support both physical and emotional offered by the ageing Madame Rosa played by Signoret in what must be the complete summation of her fabulous movie career. Slice of life would be a description of the plot with all its complexity and richness and gnawing sense of incompleteness - though this movie is complete and fulfilled. It's recent emergence from Kino on BLU RAY and DVD, unfortunately only in the Regions A and 1 format, after a long absence, perhaps 30 odd years since I watched it spellbound on Channel Four TV, is to be applauded to the heavens. I still am spellbound.

By all accounts Yves Montand advised his wife Simone Signoret not to play Madame Rosa. Happily for us she could not resist such a gift of a role and picked up both a Cesar and a Donatello for her trouble. The film itself won an Oscar which was probably due not just to its excellence but to its 'message' reflecting the sensitive Middle East politics of the time.

This is a beautifully realised piece by Moshe Mizrahi based upon the novel by Romain Cary who sadly took his own life in 1980. The score by Philippe Sarde and Babket Loubna is wonderfully subtle as are the muted tones of Nestor Almendros' cinematography.

As a former prostitute and holocaust survivor who looks after the children of 'working girls' in a sixth floor apartment, Madame Rosa forms a close bond with a young Algerian boy named Momo whose father has murdered his mother. Simone Signoret's rich and understated performance is a distillation of her vast experience in front of the camera and her innate sensitivity. Unusually for an actress she was seemingly without vanity and certainly piled on the pounds for the character. Rosa is tantamount to a guardian angel to Momo and their scenes together are excellent. His other guardian angel is a film editor played by the director's wife Michal Bat-Adam. Mention must also be made of veteran Claude Dauphin as the local doctor. One cannot help wondering what became of Samy Ben-Yubi who plays Momo as this was his first and last film.

Star and director had such a good rapport that they worked together again on 'Chere inconnue'. Coincidentally Montand starred two years later in 'Womanlight' based on another Romain Carey novel.

'Madame Rosa' beat off some stiff competition to win the Oscar, not least 'A Special Day' starring Sophia Loren. Miss Loren just happens to be the latest and very recent incarnation of Rosa in 'A Life ahead of us.' This remake has already attracted dozens of reviews on IMDb whereas the total reviews for the original amount to just seven. As Shakespeare reminds us: "The present eye praises the present object"!

for me, it is special. because it represents almost a slice of memories. madame Rosa has many faces. she is silhouette of many persons. and fantastic art of Simone Signoret gives new powerful nuances to an old portrait. story of an old woman and a boy. the lady can be a grandmother or aunt but, in this case, she is only a single pray of time. the boy, if you has a little courage in sauce of imagination, he is you. in moments of old age. sure, the theme is not new. but the work of Gary novel, art of Moshe Mizrahi, the colors of a universe out of reasonable limits, the dialogs and the looks, all is unique. it is recipes of a life lesson. but, in same measure, it remains a confession. to yourself, viewer of an alternative existence, touching story who may be yours.

It's a shame that this film doesn't have a wider audience here in the US. Simone Signoret gives perhaps the finest performance of a distinguished career, unafraid to let the ravages of time and hard living show.

The film has some surface similarities to Central Station in that both films are about older women finding new meaning when having to care for a child, street urchins in each film. Both women are embittered and angry at life in general.

Rent Madam Rosa if you can find it. Anyone who loves exceptional film will be happy they gave this one their time.