The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (2008) User Reviews (15)

Beautiful, very French, I loved it

[Jon_Mathias · 9/10 · 13 August 2010]

I've just finished watching this for the second time as it overwhelmed me emotionally the first time and I had to check if it was just the wine.

Well, it wasn't.

It's a marvellous film - beautifully crafted, played by a cast of quality actors, great soundtrack.

Watching this film reminded me of why we need the French film industry. Today I saw Toy Story 3 (not a bad instalment in the franchise, but nothing special) with my 9-year old daughter and as we came out of the auditorium, I looked around and saw ads for (1) an animated dog flick for kids, (2) a standard "blockbuster" CGI-fest, all shot in blue and (3) a loads-of-explosions bog standard actioner. Why is no-one making films about reality anymore? Are the lives of real people no longer worth considering? Why is Hollywood producing such a deluge of crap these days?

La Premier Jour de la Reste de ma Vie tells the story of a family by way of a few individual days over the course of c15 years. Don't expect any contrived pivotal moments of misunderstanding - this film is above that. It shows the conflicts between family members and the frustration and bitterness, yet attempts to demonstrate how these rifts came about. It also shows how people learn from the failures of their parents and how they try not to repeat them. Look up the poem "This be the Lesson" by Philip Larkin for how important this is...

It is also about love, the bonds of family, redemption, nostalgia and if the final scene doesn't have tears pissing from your eyes, then you have no heart.

The script is you and me, boy. No-one knows you better than family.

[Chris_Docker · 8/10 · 29 June 2009]

Can you go back in your memory and find a key day that was the start of your life as you know it now? Who were the people around you then? What was your favourite song? Was there maybe a special piece of clothing that brings memories flooding back with a smile? What about the food you loved those days? Iconic details. Where are they burned in your brain like a hit song, a movie masterpiece, an unstoppable feeling. When did your life first explode? Somewhere those images are a picture of who you are.

Maybe it was getting married. Your first child. Leaving home. Passing your driving test. Getting your Amex Gold. Or falling in love. Moving house. Losing your virginity. Starting university. Finding religion. Getting stoned. Discovering you were someone else all along. Take five people. Take five days. Define the tingles at either end of their spines. Who they are to themselves. To each other. The family in which they are all, somehow, related.

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life might not be Magnolia or even American Beauty, but it's damn good fun. This is thumpingly enjoyable entertainment, even with (dare I mention them?) 'subtitles.' In less than two hours, you will feel that you've known Mum and Dad, eldest son Albert, grungy sister Fleur, romantic bro' Raphael all your life. Cos now you know theirs.

Blood ties and facts are only one of the ways we relate. Usually the really important bits are a single moment, incident or word. Bits that affect everything else. Bits that define people to you in ways words can't. Intimacies or misunderstandings. Hard decisions taken when you disagree with those you love.

Powered by a wonderfully cross-Channel soundtrack, The First Day of the Rest of Your Life is fast and funny. And never flippant. A film for intelligent teenagers who still like to get wasted. For parents struggling to bond. For those in relationships and those struggling to connect. It's not often I feel I can recommend a film to nearly everyone I know (barring subtitles allegies). But I'll stick my neck out and say this is one.

It's a symphonic comedy. Of finding yourself alone in the midst of those who love you. Taking pride in yourself even if no-one remembers. Of finally getting through to someone. It could almost be the thinking feelgood film of the year if it wasn't in French (maybe they'll dub it for America??) To get such a complex mix right is masterpiece of modern editing. But the filmmakers have also been astutely conscious of the need to define key experiences in terms audiences can relate to rather than just the way they are experienced by the characters. A love of grunge and praying at Jim Morrison's grave, for instance, does not translate into inflicting Nirvana and the Doors on us. Rather, music is used in classic style to communicate feelings.

Or Bowie: Time - He's waiting in the wings . . .

His script is you and me, boy There are plenty of senseless things in the First Day of the Rest of Your Life. Believe me – air guitar has never looked so cool. But there are enough really cool, heart-warming moments to make it more than worth your ticket price. It doesn't hit the intellectual self-awareness heights about dysfunctional families that it is capable of – life, death, trust and infidelity, burying your dog, nicotine patches, feng shui, confiscated joints, premature ejaculation and facelifts – none of this matters and yet it does. And as polished all-round entertainment, this film is fairly hard to beat. If you disagree, maybe be you're taking life too seriously and not seriously enough. Sometimes it's hard (as every film critic knows). To just stop analysing long enough to smell the grass. In literary terms, it amounts to Mrs Dalloway buying the flowers herself.

Well structured and entertaining drama with a superb soundtrack

[theycallmemrglass · 9/10 · 12 November 2009]

Watched this at a London preview screening

This was a cleverly structured drama depicting a lengthy span of a family's life by rolling the events of one day in each phase of their lives. Its so well done that you really care about how their lives pan out. I felt it conveyed a message that life is too short to waste, so make the most of it. Bizarrely though, there's one message that seems rather twisted, you can only really enjoy yourself if you smoke something with a bit of kick in it! OK..I'll go try that...

How their lives pan out can be a tad predictable because this has been done before. But this movie rolls with so much panache, drama, nostalgia, a superb soundtrack, and lots of humour. In fact I laughed out loud a few times. The performances are uniformly excellent, especially the actor playing the father. He doesn't say much but you can read so much in his subtle expressions.

I think this is a film that has got such a universal appeal which most people can relate to in some way. Its highly entertaining and very well paced.

A feel good movie!

[juliancasa · 10/10 · 23 May 2010]

Realistic, funny, honest, gritty with fantastic music! What more could you ask for? I wish I could find the soundtrack for this as each song fits each moment perfectly (whichever emotion it is trying to portray).

I found myself caught between laughing & (almost) crying throughout the entire film. I am sure each person can relate to something in at least one of the characters... the angsty rebellious teenager, the hopeless romantic, the 'drop out', the couple who has fallen out of love and the doctor who is stuck in a job he doesn't love and a relationship he is not happy in.

The acting in this movie is simply fantastic.

It is structured around five key moments in a family's life and is such a fun, inspiring movie which plays with all of the different relationships between father & son, mother & daughter and of course, husband & wife.

It may sound intense or grim, but in fact I found this film to be (along with some intense moments of course), full of light and fluffy feel-good moments too.

You will see each character's different perspective on life and how they grow, which makes interesting watching. From the start to the end, I just loved it.

Don't be put off by the subtitles - you don't need to understand French to understand this wonderful movie!

Original take on a life crises in a feel good way

[OJT · 8/10 · 24 August 2014]

I must say I've seen a lot of movies but rarely I feel so much drawn into this kind of stories. Believe me, it's a sign of a good movie!

I immediately saw great camera angles and this follows the film throughout. I love the movement of the camera, following the story acted out by good actors in a script that is funny and well written. On top of that, the film has a great musical score.

We go right into what is an average French family. Man and wife and two grown up kids. Time to have a life crisis or four. Mum and dad is no longer having sex, the daughter feels estranged and the son procrastinating. More shouldn't be told, though it's an everyday story from a French middle class family.

The film is funny, still it's able to balance into both sentimentality as swell as sadness. Typically French, but in a good way. The latter years I think the French film industry has turned out a lot of great films, and again French film is something you awaits the best from. This is another example of such a film. Well done!

already seen, but nice film

[jphdesmarest · 7/10 · 22 September 2008]

Yes we've already watched this kind of movie... Yes the different "life issues" and/or "family issues" that are exposed are quite classic...

But I really enjoyed watching this movie. The actors and actresses are very good, the musical atmosphere is great too, and the situations or dialogs made me laughed quite often.

It's a typical french movie, describing the different parts of a human life, from first life experiments to "old age" crises. The love that exists in the family looks real, pure, and is stronger than all the ordeals the different family members will encounter.

A real sweet time I had by watching this movie, you can go!

Magnifique !!

[colin_coyne · 8/10 · 9 November 2009]

I thought that "THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE" (aka "Le premier jour du reste de ta vie") was a thoroughly enjoyable movie … it is a film that I would contemplate seeing again … (and maybe again!) ….

Well written and superbly directed by Remi Bezancon, "The first day… " is a French film (with subtitles) telling the tale of a close knit family over a period of twelve years … and especially focusing on five individual crucial days in particular over that period that changed the course of the families life for ever …

I just liked everything about this film, the casting was superb, the music great, the way the story moved along was brisk and to the point … and you felt at one with the family … at some points I was very moved … at others I laughed out loud … there wasn't a bad thing to say about this movie ...

A special mention should go the actors playing the main Duval family members – such good believable actors … the Father - Robert (Jacques Gamblin), the Mother Marie-Jeanne (Zabou Breitman), their Daughter Fleur (Deborah Francois), and their two sons Raphael (Marc-Andre Grondin) and Albert (Pio Marmai) – I'm sure that there will be many more good things to come from these actors (and the director) in the future …

This film is a joy … you share the hardships and the highlights and get totally immersed in the family and their circumstances …

"THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE" is released on 20th November, and is thoroughly recommended

Five by five

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 28 August 2011]

The Duvals, a French family, is closely examined during five key days of their lives. The father, Robert, a taxi driver, and his wife, Marie- Jeanne, enjoy the kind of life most people would envy. They seem to be solid middle class trying to do the best for their three children, Raphael, Albert and Fleur. Over a twelve year span, the family is shown at different points in their lives.

Earlier, as the film credits roll, we are given glimpses of the family, pictures about their time together, the crisis, and the happiness. Meeting the members will take the full length of the film, that reflects the time in which the action happens. Robert is a placid man, with his best intentions for providing for the family. Unfortunately, Robert never really got to know his wine-loving father well. He never can tell him about it because the old man dies while all dressed up for his grandson's wedding.

Marie-Jeanne with all her good intentions, and the family's best interest at hand, suffers from what could only be described as a generation gap. She does not really understand Fleur, her young daughter's attitude toward life. Only by taking a peek at Fleur's diary does she get an idea what she is all about, her insecurities, as well as the way she perceives a life her mother never had.

Director Remi Benzancon looks into this family with such a perception that results into a film that while it's basic premise is the family, he questions its purpose in our society. The changing times influence the way the members of the Duval clan change. As the children mature and get on their own, the original bond is there, although seldom questioned until tragedy intervenes, something that brings all of them together in a bond that was never broken.

Good acting in general was achieved by the director. Jacques Gamblin, is Robert Duval, the father. Zabou Breitman makes a wonderful Marie-Jeanne. Young Deborah Francois is a surprise in the film as the troubled Fleur. Marc-Andre Grondin and Pio Marmai appear as Raphael and Albert. Old timer Roger Dumas is seen as the grandfather.

A life affirming tribute to the family, as a unit.

A film about nostalgia.

[nzswanny · 10/10 · 1 April 2017]

If you've ever felt nostalgia, you will completely understand this film. This film displays nostalgia, of our good times, of the times we missed, the times we loved, and the times we cherished. It also deals, however, with the times we hated, the times we were embarrassed and the times that were bad. This film combines both nostalgia and regret into one well paced film, that contains great acting, magnificent direction and a swell soundtrack. A french film, alas, some may consider it to be overrated if they have never experienced nostalgia. The ones who have experienced nostalgia, however, will absolutely love this film. Whoever this director is, I'm going to look for some more films that he directed, because this was absolutely stunning. A spectacular experience that will make you feel with the characters, with pain and nostalgia. I will not give anything else away. 10/10.

Not bad.

[teerabhat9 · 6/10 · 13 September 2014]

It's a film with an ordinary quality. Probably the most 'accessible' French film I've ever watched.

To elaborate and clarify, I rate a film 6/10 when it's not a bad film but it has nothing new to offer to its own genre much less the cinema as a whole. It is recommendable only on the ground that one is a hardcore fan of the genre, theme, director etc.

To acquire higher point, the film must contribute something to its own genre or theme. It doesn't have to invent something new but it must have a high quality over all. A practical example would be a film that define the genre of that particular year.

For my part, a masterpiece !

[Neimad22 · 10/10 · 6 February 2009]

Yes, and I thought to what I wrote ! When I saw this film, it was the first time that all of the characters made me share their emotions and laughs. Amazing !

A very nice film, treated well.

I particularly love the way of filming. It's also the first time I saw such a devotion to one film. Really interesting. The audio fits perfectly with the film.

The problem, as you surely know it, is "the family". Every character is perfect in his or her role, and no one can doubt about that !

Three words : buy and see !

Sweet, human, funny and touching

[runamokprods · 8/10 · 23 April 2014]

Sweet, human, funny and touching, this portrait of 5 key moments in a families life may not dive as deep as some films into the complexity of 'family', but makes up for it by reminding us that families – for all their flaws and pettiness and hurts – are also wonderful and important and, if we're lucky, full of love.

Remi Bezancon manages to make this argument without falling into too much sappiness. The acting is generally excellent, and the film has a knack for catching all those small details in our lives that eventually add up to larger, more important ones.

Not a masterpiece, but a lovely and very heartfelt and enjoyable film.

The implications of negligent parenting in an engaging form

[walkerl-830-739206 · 8/10 · 28 August 2010]

I found this French film from the writer/director Ŕemi Beanc̗on intriguing. The first quarter of the film initially engaged the professional me; that part that is a child and adolescent psychologist; with an impressionistic overlay of happily narcissistic and negligent parenting and spends the rest of the film unfolding the effect of this on the three children and even in a somewhat family therapy and Lacanian way showing how this bad habit of self absorption can be traced back three generations. However, I don't want to make the film sound heavy or preachy. It remains light and real and the only heaviness is the dramatically impactful incidents which evolve from these well sketched dynamics. Besides, the musical me was delighted by a perfect scene from the late 70's which had me reflecting that I had not played air guitar with quite such élan and enthusiasm since exactly that time. Also note the plot line that follows one of the male brothers frustrating failure to follow through on a truly kismetic introduced love interest. Superb, light but deep film about what carelessly inattentive parenting can do to all those (or that's the joke isn't it? – uninvolved with the result). Depths left unexplored in The Movie Show. Four stars from me. Beautiful.

If you love the one next to you, show him this, tell him, make him feel your love!

[yasin-99896 · 10/10 · 18 November 2020]

The film deals with the life of a couple with 3 children for about 20 years. He tries to sound the alarm that although we love each other as members of a family, we do not know how to show this, we do not know how to express this love in the sense of our loved ones, we do not know how to communicate enough, we do not know how to be with each other at key moments and thus we all end up being frustrated, feeling misunderstood, estranged from each other. Even if it is more of a house movie, a drama, it is not boring because it is sprinkled with major events and because the feelings, emotions, affections of the characters are constantly evoked. It's a deep film, from which you have something to learn, you don't get up from the armchair like you were when you sat down to watch it.

The Song's Zabou

[writers_reign · 8/10 · 29 December 2008]

What attracted me to this one was the billing. Jacques Gamblin who I have yet to see give a bad or even mediocre performance plus Zabout Breitman who directed one of the finest French films of the last few years, Se Souvenirs des belles choses, and is an equally fine actress plus Deborah Francois, the very promising newcomer who scored heavily as the Page-Turner a couple of years ago. There's not that much to it; we're privy to the highs and lows of a family over a period of several years; they laugh, they cry, they fight, there are crises to be dealt with and they are; The penultimate scene is just Zabou sitting silently and I can still see it forty eight hours later. Not, of course, for everyone but then what is.