Qui m'aime me suive (2006)
Directed by Benoît Cohen

Film Review

Mid-life crisis seems to be a recurring theme in Benoit Cohen's work.  After Nos enfants chéris (2003), he brings together Romane Bohringer and Mathieu Demy for a similar bitter-sweet portrayal of a middle-aged man who is forced  to review his life and decide on his future direction.   Qui m'aime me suive may not be as convincing or as polished as Cohen's earlier film, but it is a thoughtful and well-realised piece of comedy-drama, funny in some places, poignant in others, and with a hugely engaging performance from Mathieu Demy.  The film's brutally pessimistic ending jars somewhat with the generally upbeat tone of the film, although Cohen does succed in making his point with great effect.

Film Synopsis

Maxime Maréchal is a respected medical practitioner in his mid-thirties who could not be happier with the way his life is going.  He has a devoted wife, Anna, and what more success could he ask for than to be made the head of a private clinic?  Then it suddenly dawns on him that maybe his life isn't going the way he would like it to.  What if he is deluding himself, living only for the approbation of others instead of doing what he really wants to do?  He is mulling matters over in a bar when he comes into contact with Chine, a woman of about the same age as him who is happy making a modest life for herself as a cabaret singer.  Chine doesn't care that she isn't rich or famous - she is doing what she wants to do, and that is the crucial thing.  Chine's story comes as a revelation to Max.  Realising what a fool he has been, he gives up his well-paid, well-respected job and makes a fresh start.  When he was a teenager his sole ambition was to form a rock band with his friends.  Now the time has come for him to make that dream a reality.  Unfortunately, making a new life for yourself in early middle-age isn't quite so easy as Max reckons, but he is determined to make it work, whatever the cost...