L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie

Well to be honest i wasn't expecting much from this French thriller but i was convinced enough by the trailer that i should give it a try. When i started watching i realized how right i was about the film and how correctly i wasn't expecting much from the film. For about 50 minutes of the film i started counting the films i had seen based on wife cheating her husband, getting charged with infidelity and then good husband getting upset and finally taking care of the problem.

I shouldn't have watched this film i thought...

It was after the first 50 minutes of the film when i was taken aback by the jolting surprise and a bizarre movie experience which remained with me after few days even. THIS FILM MUST BE SEEN.

It explores that side of a character that is commonly not paid attention by the filmmakers. The movie takes a sharp turn and gets lost into infinity, where everything gets stagnant, slow and becomes endless. It can go on and on like this for hours. To me it felt very unusual experience, something both poetic and strange, beautiful and scary at the same time.

Eric Lartigau, the writer and the director did a fabulous job in both of his departments. Although a little more character development of the supporting roles in the second half would have been beneficial making the narrative more deep.

Romain Duris comes up with a startling performance, his character transitions from one mode to another and the actor just goes freely along with it. His deep influential performance is another fact why the movie haunts you after it ends. I was moved to tears by the intensity of his approach towards the character. This one role should transcend his career as an actor to higher level.

The movie was adorned with lilting musical score and gorgeous cinematography enhancing the impact of the film on the viewer. By the end i was thankful to myself that i saw the movie truly relying on my instincts, i was so glad i came across such a warm movie and I'm sure others who watch will feel the same.

Poor guy !

Things happen sometimes spiralling, upending your life!

What to do to fix it?

Good casting !

If you are a fan of the book there are obviously a great deal of glaring differences, but this film does not disappoint if you can give it a chance. Obviously it is a European tale and the countries and languages are completely different to the original film. It is also a different story in terms of the characters. This is a film about a man who has recoiled from the life he wanted, but who is then forced into free fall. His skills learned through his unwanted life see him through, and he finds himself a new purpose and a new role in the world. I won't say any more than that as I see no point in spoiling a film by writing a newspaper-style plot summary. The ending is what many people don't like, but this is not a film of the book, it is a film inspired by the book. Let it be what it is.

I saw this film at the 2010 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, and it was a pleasant surprise.

Great performances, tightly directed, and a very compelling storyline, in addition to a being beautifully shot and using some great Magnum Photos in the film as part of the main character's unexpected shift into a new world and a new life.

Based on the American writer Douglas Kennedy's acclaimed book of the same name, but changed to a Euro setting, director Eric Lartigau easily shows how European filmmakers can take the themes of murder, obsession and identity to new artistic heights, while also giving us one of the best thrillers of 2010. It's a thriller as cinematic art as only the Europeans can do.

The film might not have gotten as much attention as other films at TIFF 2010, but it definitely should. I truly hope it gets a wider release here in Canada and elsewhere.

Seek it out. Decidedly worthwhile.

I found the film a bit illogical and ridiculous as the main character's paranoia have not been depicted realistically...well I have seen the film in the french films club lair with my vision distorted by 2 rows of other people. Anyhow the film might have been a great one had it been cut better. Had it say started at the sea and then retrospectively (getting there backwards) let the viewer to discover the whole, a viewer would personalize the idea and intentions better. In the movie on the other hand, one gets to be introduced to the 'normal' person who gets clearly mad, arranging his life as a paranoic schizophrenic yet acting sanely as before so he even manages to lead a life of a star artist with ease. There are some great plot points like leaving of the loved, stealing of the identity, accidental death, unwanted? artistic praise, sea survival friendship. Unfortunately they are loosely connected with the hero's intentions that are depicted not deeply enough to make a good sense... hence a schizophrenic.