La Vie des morts (1991) - film review

After a young man attempts to commit suicide, his family and friends spend a night together in a house whilst he lies between life and death in a hospital bed.  Fearing the worst, three generations await the news that is sure to come, and as they do so the meaninglessness of their own lives becomes apparent…

This dark study in living with death and its consequences marked the directorial debut of Arnaud Desplechin, who would go on to win critical acclaim with his subsequent full length films, La Sentinelle (1992) and Comment je me suis disputé (ma vie sexuelle) (1996).  Although lacking in content and occasionally marred by pretentious dialogue, La Vie des morts is stylistically brilliant.  The sombre cinematography conveys an intense mood of existentialist angst, which the repressed acting performances can only amplify.  It is a thoughtful meditation on how human beings face up to their own mortality, not overly profound, but strangely compelling and hauntingly poetic.

© James Travers 2006
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