Despite being engagingly acted and smartly structured, this ambitious effort from Rémi Bezançon ultimately presents a sentimental vision of la vie famille.
Comment
11/20/09
The First Day of the Rest of Your Life
71
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:14
Fresh:10
Rotten:4
Average Rating:6.6/10
Theatrical Release:20-11-2009
Synopsis: Though this French-language family drama takes place over the course of five years, the filmmakers have chosen to focus on five essential days in the lives of Marie-Jeanne and Robert, and their... [More]
Starring: Remi Bezancon, Jacques Gamblin, Marc-Andre Grondin, Zabou Breitman
Reviews for The First Day of the Rest of Your Life
1 - 14 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticWhile it’s competently put together, you can’t help wondering what the point is.
11/20/09
Top CriticReasonable enough, but underpowered.
11/20/09
Top CriticThe movie’s keen to show off its period threads and craft solo acting moments, all of which it does entertainingly, but we can’t quite see the ties that bind: these feel like five characters in search of a common gene pool.
11/20/09
Top CriticFrom its title downwards, this uninspiring French dramady embraces cliché at every turn, relying on simplistic humour, obvious emotional cues and performances straight out of Albert Square to tell its story.
11/20/09
For a story with so many sub-plots it's to Bazancon's credit that he keeps the psychological plates spinning without mishap.
11/20/09
The bittersweet shifts are deftly realised by some superb performances.
11/20/09
Bézançon handles the passage of time and the shifts of perspective quite adroitly, and creates a real sense of the characters as a family unit. His use of music is also inspired.
11/20/09
A wonderful soundtrack and a collection of great performances make this an entertaining and touching ensemble piece.
11/20/09
Brilliantly directed, impeccably acted French drama with a script that's both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving – this is easily one of the best films of the year.
11/20/09
A joy to watch, with vibrant characters, inventive direction and an emotional resonance that's both provocative and deeply moving.
11/20/09
Over-stylised and undernourished, French director Rémi Bezançon relies a little too heavily on clichéd cinematic catastrophes to provide dramatic momentum to what is at heart a rather unspectacular saga of familial discord and reconciliation.
11/20/09
Bezançon has done a beautiful job moving back and forth through time and bringing background stories to the foreground before letting them slip away for another's point of view.
06/28/09
The combination of deft writing and directing and a first-rate ensemble cast brings the viewer into the lives of the Duval family and it is well worth the time.
06/25/09
1 - 14 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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