The coronavirus pandemic has almost wiped out movie theaters, with theaters emptying in an instant and Netflix becoming our primary source of movies. While sitting at home, I've come across quite a few horribly mediocre films that the American film industry (especially Netflix's) has produced for us, and I've slowly lost faith in being able to watch a good film made in recent years.
My feeling was that this industry had been taken over by a righteous spirit of political correctness, which tries to educate us in every film, no matter what kind. The result was my amok run towards nostalgia and the films of the past, to the days when they still knew how to make films that aimed to entertain and excite and not push all sorts of agendas on us.
To my great joy, it seems that the coronavirus has receded (at least for now), the cinemas have opened and a few days ago I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of the film “The Best Time of My Life”, thanks to which I regained my faith in this industry. In the short article before you, I will try to explain what is in this film, what made me fall in love with it at first sight, and why you should run and see it too.
The plot of the film “The Best Time of My Life”
Victor (Daniel Otay) is a comic book artist whose future is long behind him. He is married to Marianne (Fanny Arden), who despises him, and has a son who is a useful one, albeit one that causes him frustration and jealousy.
After his wife throws him out of the house, he accepts a special offer from an entrepreneur who allows his customers to go back in time to any period they want. Victor decides to go back about 40 years, to the day he first met his future wife. The entrepreneur builds for him, using scenery and actors, the small restaurant inCity of Lyon In it he met his wife and the hero must recount minute by minute the events that led to their relationship.
Will the hero be able to understand what made his wife fall in love with him 40 years ago? Will he not accidentally fall in love with the young actress, who plays the same girl he fell in love with in the 70s? Is it even possible to continue living in nostalgia and escape from current reality?
You will receive all the answers to this and other questions during two magical hours that will pass as quickly as your childhood passed.
Why did I love this movie so much?
Before I begin, Spoiler warning: This section deals with the plot of “The Best Time of My Life” and can be used to learn how the film ended. I do this because this cinematic work, unlike films based on Agatha Christie’s books, for example, does not pretend to contain surprises or sharp plot transitions. Therefore, even if you read my review before watching the film, I find it hard to believe that familiarity with the plot will detract from your enjoyment.
Now that we’ve covered that, let’s start talking about the film itself. To answer the question of why I loved “The Best Time of My Life” so much, we can, of course, first go to the “usual suspects,” namely the actors and the director.
There is no doubt that Nicolas Bados has managed to gather the "crème de la crème" of French cinema here, starting with Daniel Auteuil, who plays the complex character of the film's protagonist with enormous sensitivity, through Fanny Arden, who is not only an actress with an enormous presence but also a true beauty (how does she manage to be so beautiful at the age of 72, God knows), through the charming Doria Tillier, and finally the actors, each of whom plays their role in wonderful harmony.
Beyond the quality of the actors, the rhythmic direction should be praised, which means that even though the film lasts nearly two hours, you don't feel tired and the time passes very quickly. To all this, of course, we must add the high quality of the production, which is expressed both in the costumes and in the attention to the smallest details on the set (there is no choice when it comes to a cinematic work that is essentially about a kind of film production that takes place in a certain period).
However, everything I have mentioned so far cannot create a brilliant film. A good film? Yes. A recommended film? Certainly. But not a brilliant film, one that enters the pantheon of French films immediately after its release. For a film to be brilliant, it must touch the heart directly, and “The Best Time of My Life” does this through its sensitive engagement with nostalgia.
I can attest to myself that I am a very nostalgic person, and there is no doubt that my love for Paris stems precisely from that nostalgia that constitutes an important part of my personality (you are invited to read the article). The Ghosts of Paris(To better understand what I mean.) Beyond that, it's important to remember that if the nostalgia phenomenon didn't exist, Paris in particular, and France in general, wouldn't have become such a popular tourist destination.
Let's be honest: we come to France thanks to the kings who ruled it, the mythology of the Belle Époque or theBohemia of Montparnasse And not because of what is happening in Paris today (the exception that proves the rule is theEurodisney(which does bring quite a few tourists to France, but nothing French comes here).
What the film proved to me, even though I knew it before, is that nostalgia is a very powerful force, even when it comes to the nostalgia of others. And it's a fact: I promise you that even if you were born, like me, after the year 1974 mentioned in the film, after watching it, you will immediately want to return to that period, as if the best days of your life happened there.
Hence the sad and moving conclusion that emerges from the film, and relevant to any nostalgia lover, is that escaping to a past that no longer exists may perhaps spice up your next trip to France, but at the same time it may have a destructive effect on the present, which nostalgia lovers reject. This is undoubtedly a conclusion that makes “Koch” heart-wrenching and may activate, for some of you, the tear glands.
However, it is fortunate that the creator of “The Most Beautiful Time of My Life” does not stop there and proves, towards the end of the film, that there are also positive elements in dwelling on the past. After all, without that return to the past, the film’s protagonists would not have fully understood what was the reason that brought them together on that evening in 1974. Hence, without nostalgia, they would not have returned to each other and accepted each other, despite their many shortcomings.
If your tear glands didn't work when the director recreates the film's hero's beautiful period, then you are guaranteed not to have a dry eye when, at the end of the film, the hero returns to his wife. And if the film managed to make you emotional and even teary, then this reason alone should put it on the list of the best French films.
Where can I watch this movie?
The film will be shown starting in mid-July 2021 at the following locations:
- Tel Aviv Cinematheque
- Yes Planet Ramat Gan
- Yes Planet Rishon LeZion
- Yes Planet Haifa
- Yes Planet Jerusalem
- Yes Planet Zichron Yaakov
- Yes Planet Beer Sheva
- Cinema City Glilot
- Cinema City Rishon LeZion
- Cinema City Jerusalem
- Cinema City Hadera
- Cinema City Ashdod
- Cinema City Beer Sheva
- Hot Cinema Caryon
- Hot Cinema Haifa
- Hot Cinema Kfar Saba
- Hot Cinema Modi'in
- Hot Cinema Petah Tikva
- Hot Cinema Rehovot
- Mobilend Netanya
- Lev Smadar Jerusalem
- Mandarin Heart Tel Aviv
- Lev Raanana
- Even Yehuda's Heart
- Lev Daniel Herzliya
- Lev Omer
- Lev Savyon