La Vie Est Un Roman (1983)

Synopsis of La Vie Est Un Roman

With Life is a Bed of Roses, filmmaker Alain Resnais wanted to create a lighthearted tribute to three important French directors, each of whom defined a particular era in his country's cinema Melies (the first French filmmaker to use narrative--his most famous film is A Trip to the Moon), the impressionist L'Herbier (most famous for his inspirational avant garde work during the '20s) and Rohmer (most famed for his sextet of "Moral Tales" during the '60s). To present his chronicle of the human quest for a utopia of personal happiness and fulfillment, Resnais created two distinct narratives representing the past and present, and then interspliced them with a third more fantastical tale to provide contrast. Representing the past, the first tale centers on a monied eccentric who creates a "temple of happiness' in his chateau. There, guests are given a special potion, laid inside enormous cribs and surrounded by pleasant sensations to help them return to the blissful state of infancy. The second story takes place in the same chateau where a symposium on the techniques and philosophies of the eccentric are hotly debated and elaborated upon. Weaving its way between the two tales is the third, which represents the medieval fantasies of children in a forest who imagine the struggle between a wicked king and a brave good-hearted warrior. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:

110 mins

Director(s):

Alain Resnais

Writer(s):

Jean Gruault

Producer(s):

Philippe Dussart

Theatrical MPAA Rating:

PG(Adult Situations, Questionable for Children)

Looking for special editions of La Vie Est Un Roman?

See All Versions

Subtitles:

Check All Versions

Closed Captioning:

Check All Versions