La Vie rêvée des anges (1998) - film review

A young woman, Isa, arrives in Lille, with no job, no money, and nowhere to live.  She meets up with Marie, a girl of her own age, and the two become friends.  Isa moves in with Marie, who is looking after a flat belonging to a woman and her daughter, Sandrine, who are in coma in hospital after a car accident.  Marie begins a relationship with Chriss, the well-off owner of a bar, although it is clear to Isa that she is being led on.  Meanwhile, Isa has been visiting Sandrine in hospital, forming a bond of attachment with the unconscious girl.  Whilst Marie dreams of a life together with Chriss, Isa dreams of a life for Sandrine.  But dreams rarely come true, do they?

La Vie rêvée des anges was one of the highlights of French cinema of 1998, earning its director Erick Zonca critical acclaim and with its stars Élodie Bouchez and Natacha Régnier wining awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Césars Ceremony.   It is a slice-of-life drama which hooks the audience from the first scene, just by telling a down-to-earth story about two young women with a spell-binding realism and perceptiveness.   Zonca admitted that the film evolved from a vague set of ideas, and this is apparent because the film has a natural spontaneity and rough-edged feel throughout – creating some stunning moments of high tension.

The optimism or fantasy which the film’s enigmatic title suggests is cruelly belied by its actual content.  For the two principle characters in the film, the out-going, immature Isa, and the withdrawn, love-hungry Marie, life is a constant struggle and series of harrowing disappointments.  Their life is not a dream but a daily diet of unfulfilled hopes and upsets.  The tragedy is that both girls ultimately fall into the trap of constructing a dream life to cushion them from their problems, and ultimately mistake that for reality.  Marie’s relationship with Chriss is obviously going to go nowhere, but Marie will never let it go, whilst Isa’s obsession to resurrect a comatose adolescent girl looks equally futile.  The film manages to show the importance of dreams in helping us to get through our day to day lives, yet it also demonstrates their destructive power.   This is something that anyone can easily relate to, making this a film which is accessible to all, despite its apparent low budget and no frills cinematography.

© James Travers 2001

I think this film is very effective, optimistic and touching. I can watch it several times without getting bored. It’s one of my favourite French films... 5 stars.
© Başak, Turkey 2008


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