C'est la vie - So sind wir, so ist das Leben (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life, Le Premier jour du reste de ta vie)
France 2008

Opening 23 Apr 2009

Directed by: Rémi Bezançon
Writing credits: Rémi Bezançon
Principal actors: Jacques Gamblin, Zabou Breitman, Déborah François, Marc-André Grondin, Pio Marmaï

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life is a moving family story about Marie-Jeanne (Zabou Breitman) and Robert (Jacques Gamblin) and their three children: Albert, Raphael and Fleur (Déborah Francois, who was in Das Mädchen, das die Seiten umblättert). The movie covers a period of 12 years, but five days in the life of the family are highlighted: the day 20-year-old Albert moves away from home, the day Fleur’s entire family forgets her 16th birthday, the day Raphael has an intimate talk with his grandfather, the day Fleur and her mother have a truly horrible conflict and the day Robert receives a devastating medical report. These five events are the main themes but, in effect, through these events we discover that Robert has never felt appreciated by his own father; Fleur never feels understood by her parents and during her teenage years has a "grunge" period and abortion; Marie-Jeanne wonders whether she has missed out in life and resumes her education, etc. In other words the film takes us through the ups and downs of a "normal" family by letting us witness the tragicomic moments of their lives. (Thelma Freedman)