The woman of my life
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The woman of my life |
| Original title | La femme de ma vie |
| Country of production |
France Germany |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1986 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Regis Wargnier |
| script |
Catherine Cohen Alain Le Henry Régis Wargnier Alain Wermus |
| production |
Yannick Bernard Eberhard Junkersdorf |
| music | Romano Musumarra |
| camera | François Catonné |
| cut | Noëlle Boisson |
| occupation | |
| |
The Woman of My Life is a Franco-German drama by Régis Wargnier from 1986.
action
Simon Manuel is a violinist in an orchestra that his wife Laura set up ten years ago. He's been an alcoholic for years and empties the hotel's minibar before performing. In front of his colleagues, especially the pianist Xavier and the double bass player Bernard, he tries to keep up appearances, but everyone knows how things are going. Simon faints while appearing in front of cameras. Back in Paris , he would like to flee from Laura, but her love is too strong to let him go. In the apartment she has hidden all the wine bottles from him, but Xavier's young children tell him where to find the alcohol. He begins to drink; When the boys try to hide the wine bottles again, he hits them and then escapes from the apartment, appalled at himself. He tries to drink wine in a bar, but his hands are shaking too badly. He begins to cry over the full glass until a stranger lifts the glass to his lips. It is about the shipbuilder Pierre, who takes Simon home with him. He takes care of him, washes him and puts him to sleep. The next day he gets him clean clothes and offers Simon to contact him at any time. He used to be an alcoholic himself and received help from a stranger. It has been dry for many years. Simon denies being an alcoholic but relapses a few hours away from home and gets drunk and immediately returns to Pierre.
Pierre begins to work on rehab with Simon. The first stage, staying dry for 24 hours, is difficult for Simon, who soon feels a strong craving for alcohol. He rioted in Pierre's apartment, in which there was no alcohol, but fell asleep after taking pills. In the evening, Pierre takes him to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting , where young Sylvia is present for the first time. Simon manages to stay without alcohol the first day. He stays away from Laura, fearing that he will relapse in her presence. When she stands in front of Pierre's apartment, he sends her away. Constant mood swings determine the next few days. Simon only returns to Laura after a long period of abstinence from alcohol. He is unsure whether he will continue to make music, because he himself, and not the music, is the focus. Laura makes it clear to him that she will give up the orchestra if he should no longer be there.
Shortly before a rehearsal, Simon receives a call from Sylvia, who threatens to relapse. He rushes to her, but is beaten by her boyfriend. Therefore he appears - with Sylvia - too late for the rehearsal. Because Sylvia introduces herself to the orchestra as a drunk alcoholic, Bernard throws them both out, saying that the orchestra is not a self-help group. Meanwhile, Laura has gone to Alcoholics Anonymous in search of Simon, where she meets Pierre. She introduces herself to him as Karin, and he suspects her to be a drinker. He gives her his card in case she needs help. Simon lets Sylvia spend the night with him, which is why Laura desperately goes to Pierre and stays with him; both sleep together. The next day, Simon and Laura have an argument because she doesn't want to tell him where she was. She demonstratively drinks liquor in front of him and leaves a glass that has been started on the table. He makes it clear to her that he wants to separate from her for a while and move in with Pierre. She goes back to Pierre, who has since learned her true identity from a program booklet. He accuses her of playing a game and explains to her how sick he once was. His wife fell overboard while sailing the sea and he was too drunk to get up. Since then he has avoided alcohol and the open sea. Laura is leaving. Simon finds out a little later that Sylvia took her own life with almost pure alcohol. He plays the violin for her in his villa and then goes to the orchestra rehearsal. Laura asks him to leave her. She has realized that he will always fail with her. Simon finally reappears as a violinist at a concert. Pierre accompanied him, but shortly before the idea, he revealed that he was going to leave Paris and settle in Brittany. Simon doesn't yet know whether he will ever visit him there.
production
The woman of my life was the directorial debut of Régis Wargnier, who had previously worked as an assistant director. The costumes created Christine Guégan and Corinne Jorry that Filmbauten come from Jean-Jacques Caziot . The film was released in French cinemas on October 8, 1986, where it was seen by 893,589 viewers. It appeared in German cinemas on August 27, 1987 and was released on video on April 25, 1988. The film was released in GDR cinemas on September 29, 1989. The woman of my life was released on DVD in April 2012.
The song T'en va pas , sung by Elsa Lunghini and Jane Birkin in the film, became Elsa Lunghini's first number 1 hit.
criticism
The film-dienst found the film “the imaginative visual language and the humane commitment” remarkable. For Cinema , the film was a “sensitive study of a new beginning”. "Director Regis Wargnier, former assistant to Claude Chabrol, staged an alcoholic play [...] with the drama customary in a film," said Der Spiegel .
Awards
Régis Wargnier won a César in the category Best First Work for The Woman of My Life in 1987 . The film received four more César nominations: in the categories of Best Actor (Christophe Malavoy), Best Actress (Jane Birkin), Best Supporting Actor (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Best Young Actress (Dominique Blanc).
Web links
- The woman of my life in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The woman of my life at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ See allocine.fr
- ↑ See T'en va pas on lescharts.com
- ↑ The woman of my life. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ See cinema.de
- ↑ The woman of my life . In: Der Spiegel , No. 47, 1989, p. 302.