Les Choses de la Vie

Directed by Claude Sautet
Film Movement Classics
1970
85 Minutes
France, Switzerland, Italy
French
Romance, Drama
Not Rated
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Pierre (Michel Piccoli), a middle-aged engineer, has his life flash before his eyes after being involved in a horrific car accident. While falling in and out of consciousness, he reflects on the recent events that have transpired between him and estranged wife, Catherine (Lea Massari), and his young lover, Hélène (Romy Schneider).

Based on the acclaimed Paul Guimard novel Intersection, Les Choses de la vie (The Things of Life) won the 1969 Louis Delluc Prize and was the first of five film collaborations between Romy Schneider and director Claude Sautet.

Cast

  • Michel Piccoli
  • Romy Schneider
  • Léa Massari
  • Gérard Lartigau
  • Jean Bouise
  • Highest Rating
    "...a beautifully understated performance from Piccoli which manages to extract a whole lifetime of meaning from a simple gesture like lighting a cigarette, and to illuminate the film's meticulously detailed naturalistic surface."
    Time Out
  • Highest Rating
    "...a remarkable portrait of the compromises of marriage and the fickle stirrings of the human heart, structured as an intricate narrative jigsaw: “Gone Girl” avant la lettre."
    Scott Foundas, Variety
  • Highest Rating
    "Should be considered a high priority for cinephiles."
    Mike D’Angelo, The Village Voice
  • Highest Rating
    " ...it is Sautet’s work on Les Choses de la vie that helps change the French cinematographic landscape definitively."
    Janice Tong, Senses of Cinema
  • Highest Rating
    "A remarkable portrait of the compromises of marriage and the fickle stirrings of the human heart, structured as an intricate narrative jigsaw."
    Variety

Awards & Recognition

Nominated
Palme d'Or
Cannes Film Festival
Winner
Prix Louis Delluc

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