Ma vie est un enfer (1991) - film review

Léah is a dowdy spinster in her mid-thirties.  She resents her self-obsessed mother and hates her job as a dental assistant.  Her dream is to be young and beautiful so that she can seduce the psychiatrist she visits frequently.  The Devil hears her prayer.  Summoned when Léah reads the inscription on a fetish mirror which her mother gave her, the Devil’s servant Abargadon appears.  He offers her the body she craves in exchange for her soul. Reluctantly, Léah signs the contract and at last has the wherewithall to seduce her dream lover (who gets more than he bargained for).  Abargadon learns that he has made a terrible mistake when the Archangel Gabriel appears and tells him he has corrupted the wrong person.  He should instead have bought the soul of Léah’s mother, the original owner of the mirror.  Léah’s contract with the Devil is cancelled and Abargadon finds himself transformed into a mortal.  Unless he mends his ways, Abargadon will die in three months’ time and thereafter endure an eternity in Hell.  In love with Abargadon, Léah does all she can to save his soul.  However, for this servant of Old Nick, old habits die hard...

Josiane Balasko’s third film as a director is this energetic off-the-wall black comedy which is clearly inspired by the Faust legend, and borrows some ideas from films such as Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Jean Delannoy’s Les Jeux sont faits.  It has to be said that the plot is a bit of a mess, overly complicated and lacking any clear direction, culminating in a rather feeble ending.  However, the performances are generally rather good and the film’s style is breathtakingly original (certainly for the early 1990s, when the film was made).

The constant stream of jokes, of varying degrees of bad taste, becomes a little wearing towards the end (and with a runtime of 105 minutes the film outstays its welcome by at least 15 minutes), but the bizarre visuals, the frantic pacing and the diablocal sense of fun make the film not only watchable but also quite enjoyable.  Not all of the comic situations work, and a few fall horribly flat.  However, where the jokes work, they work very well and the laughter comes very easily.

Daniel Auteuil is magnificent in his portrayal of the Mestipholean character Abargadon ("Abar" to his friends).  Not only does he look the part, with his saturnine features and mischevous eyes, he relishes it, and brings both dramatic weight and a great sense of fun to the film.  If the Devil exists he probably bears more than a passing resemblance to Daniel Auteuil.

Whilst virtually eclipsed by Auteuil, Josiane Balasko makes a solid contribution as the film’s unwitting Faust character, relying on her dowdy and somewhat vulgar screen persona which she seems unable to break away from.  Casting Michael Lonsdale as the Archangel Gabriel is a stroke of genius; his godfather-like portrayal of the Heavenly emissary is probably the best thing about this film, particularly the scenes where he is on the phone talking anxiously to his paymaster.  French film enthusiasts should watch out for director Bertrand Blier who makes a brief (and very rare) appearance in the film.

Ma vie est un enfer is not what one could legitimately call a masterpiece.  It’s loud, it’s brash and totally unhinged – a kind of free-format "pop comedy" which is unlikely to appeal to all tastes.  However, it wins full marks for originality, includes some memorably funny jokes and is a must-see film for all fans of Daniel Auteuil and Josiane Balasko.

© James Travers 2004

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