Rent The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (2008)
3.6 of 5 from 176 ratings
1h 48min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Marie-Jeanne and Robert have three children: Albert, Raphaël and Fleur. Over the course of twelve eventful years, we see five key days as seen through the eyes of each one of these characters. Five days are crucial in these lonely, vibrant, frustrated, elated and triumphant lives. Five days whose consequences reverberate through this eccentric family like thunder and lightening of a gathering storm. These five days are more important then any other day. After you've experienced them, nothing will ever be the same again.
- Actors:
- Jacques Gamblin, Zabou Breitman, Déborah François, Marc-André Grondin, Pio Marmaï, Roger Dumas, Cécile Cassel, Stanley Weber, Sarah Cohen-hadria, Camille De Pazzis, Aymeric Cormerais, Jean-jacques Vanier, Philippe Lefebvre, François-Xavier Demaison, Gilles Lellouche, Françoise Brion, Nathalie Grandhomme, Jérôme Chappatte, Ophélie Koering, Lyès Salem
- Directors:
- Rémi Bezançon
- Voiced By:
- Camille Mardery, Julien Israël
- Writers:
- Rémi Bezançon
- Aka:
- Le premier jour du reste de ta vie
- Studio:
- Metrodome
- Genres:
- Drama
- Countries:
- France
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Reviews (4) of The First Day of the Rest of Your Life
Fine vintage - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life review by JD
A lovely angle through which to view the history of a family. Poignant moments. It is surprisingly captivating. A little loss of continuity is inevitable but surprisingly important as the reaction of one family member to another changes so much between episodes. Possibly true to life but still difficult to believe. It did not attract me to a character who all seemed very self-contained and egotistical. The acting is eccentric and funny but not subtle.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Silly, poorly written, dull take on family life - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life review by BW
The opening credits (which I quite liked) set the film up as a sort of soap opera charting a young family growing up. The film then tries to subvert that photo-album cutesiness by exploring some of the hurts and emotional tensions in the lives of the five family members. The stories of the three teenagers were more successful than the parents' chapters for me.
I didn't warm to the film. I thought I might. There are a few humorous moments. Largely the film doesn't seem credible. The characters manage to be boring and not very likeable. Even given this might be showing the most dramatic moments of a family's timeline it still seems quite a violent family. The daughter understandably reproaches her mother for breaking the lock and reading her diary. The father responds to the daughter challenging her mother by slapping the girl across the face. In a different section, the mother, concerned that she is no longer desirable to her partner, visits her son who is working as a plastic surgeon. Unprompted, in her son's office, she removes her bra and requests his advice on cosmetic surgery. Such moments as these make the drama seem unrealistic and the characters dislikeable at the same time.
Ultimately there's not much to like about the film. At the end it just drags while the very obvious conclusion plays out.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Entertaining French movie - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life review by PV
This is that rare beast: a French film that is actually entertaining. OK so it's all very soapy and family-orientated. But it is entertaining and there are some great lines in some funny dialogue. I think this is French trying to be cool American - but perhaps no worse for that. Not brilliant but it passes the time happily enough.
1 out of 3 members found this review helpful.