La belle époque

La Belle Époque poses the interesting question of which moment of your life you'd want to relive (if any). Victor Drumond (Daniel Auteuil), an aging cartoonist with a failing marriage with his wife Marianne (the elegant Fanny Ardant), definitely has one.. one where he first met the love of his life (Marianne, of course!). When Victor gets chucked out of their apartment one night by Marianne, he decides to make use of the voucher offered by his son to "return to his glorious '70s". This is made possible by Antoine (a childhood friend of his son's), who along with a bunch of sophisticated actors and authentic aesthetics (akin to elaborately done film sets), offers a service to let people relive their happiest moment(s).

Antoine (Canet) is going through a relationship struggle with Margot (a tough-to-take-eyes-off Doria Tillier), one of his actresses. When Margot is cast to play the role of Marianne in Victor's moment re-enactment (set in a cafe in Lyon, 1974), things slowly spiral out of control. Victor can't help but fall in love with this beautiful, trailblazing lady (who improvises her lines and situations) for real. In her, he sees traits of his wife, but with unique texturing of her own. As days progress, Victor finds that he's able to draw (i.e. create art) again.

Nicolas Bedos strongly projects how art is one of the few things that can stand the test of time - sometimes, even love tends to take a backseat. He also leaves a heartwarming message (for everyone who's been in love at some point) in the form of the climax scene. It's a nostalgia-filled ride too, into an imagined version of the 70s. Victor casually comments on the times when people used to smoke like they owned chimney lungs and notice other people passing by instead of staring into phone screens (like we do now!).

Plenty of sharp, cleverly written humor is also present for discerning viewers. Bedos can feel proud of the fact that he didn't overly sentimentalize the proceedings or overuse his unique rom-com concept. The writing here for each of the lead characters is solid and very Kaufman-esque in its world-building. I, for one, would love to visit Utopia as many times as possible. Also, I feel uber tempted to check out Doria Tillier's other works ASAP!

My own personal 'Belle Époque' would have been my student days in the late 60s, most especially '69, when I fell amazingly in love, so I was 5 years ahead of Victor, but I can so much identify with the nostalgia, and the desire to go back. Indeed, I often visit those days in my dreams, with the sort of distortion of events that only dreams can do. So if I could pay to be magically transformed completely to 1969, to live its fabulous intensity all over again, only my bank balance would hold me back. To return to relive a time when the world lay ahead of me, everything seemed possible, and I was not old and cynical, now wouldn't that be marvellous? It is so refreshing to watch a movie that involves genuine acting, and Daniel Auteuil is magnificent, as always, his eyes alone capable of expressing so much emotion. And it sets 21st century and possibly futuristic technology against a backdrop of 1974, when life really was all so much simpler. The movie does at times become dream-like in its depiction of Victor's recreation of his youthful journey, and most certainly surreal, definitely bewildering in places for him, and the whole story is cleverly handled with wit and elegance. Well worth seeing, and I will give it a faultless 10/10

We play different roles in our lives, and sometimes we forget which one we are playing. The characters speak truths about themselves when acting, and wish they could act like they enjoy their real life. It is a film which is all the more touching because it evokes sympathy (for Victor) without being sad; it is dramatic without being indulgent (Antoine's fierce perfectionism that is distracted by Margot); it is sentimental without being nostalgic (They are not 'lost' in the past, and the pop culture references are spot-on). The script is tightly written and the wit comes through even to a non-francophone audience. It is an immensely satisfying film because all the characters grow, and come to an understanding of themselves and who/what they love in the end, bringing much laughter and tears to the audience along the way. The music is also perfect at each juncture. Bravo.

This film results in a story about love and nostalgia.

The story of this film captures you completely, the plot is very emotional and shows us how true love endures even if there are ups and downs along the way. The story is very beautiful, you manage to empathize with the protagonist from the beginning, it has a very effective balance between comedy and drama, there is a good development of why things happen, it exposes that changes in our life are inevitable but we will always be faithful to those who we are, and what we love, the production design is good, the cinematography is beautiful, and the character development is good. But there is a character who does not have any development just as there is another character who ends up being despicable and gives a very bad example of what it means to love someone.

The story is entertaining and emotional, it talks about the fact that the love we have for another person endures and will not cease to exist despite the difficulties along the way, it is a quality film that definitely made me believe in love.

Just saw this film at the VIFF. The opening scene is worth the price of admission and the fast-paced dialogue had me engaged throughout the film. Lots of witty lines and funny gags had the audience laughing. The acting was superb, especially Margot, who had to play her real life role as the director's girl friend and her acting role as Victor's wife in the past. Victor also was excellent playing the down and out jilted husband seeking connection to his past. Overall the tight script and flawless acting makes it one of my favourite movies of the year.