La vie est un long fleuve tranquille (1988)

Directed by: Etienne Chatiliez | 90 minutes | comedy | Actors: Benoît Magimel, Valérie Lalande, Tara Römer, Jérôme Floch, Sylvie Cubertafon, Emmanuel Cendrier, Guillaume Hacquebart, Jean-Brice Van Keer, Praline Le Moult, Axel Vicart, Claire Prévost, Hélène Vincent, André Wilms, Maurice Monines Pignet Daniel Gélin, Catherine Hiegel, Catherine Jacob, Patrick Bouchitey, Abbes Zahmani, Khadou Fghoul, Ismael Bourabaa, Louise Comte, Liliane Ledun, Luc Samaille, Gilles Defacque, Philippe Peltier, Pierre Rougier

Contrary to the title ‘La vie est un long fleuve tranquille’ (1988), the lives of the characters in this French satire are not at all so peaceful. The film perfectly shows how one person’s thoughtless actions can have enormous consequences for the lives of others. Sister Josette (Catherine Hiegel) has been slavishly following her lover, the alcoholic doctor Mavial (Daniel Gélin), for twelve years in the hope that he will finally choose her. Mavial, who has a seriously ill wife at home, always sends her a bunch of reeds – not after he jumps on her though! When Mavial’s wife dies, Josette finally sees her chance: Mavial now has no reason to reject her. During the funeral, however, he firmly makes it clear that no woman can replace his wife. Josette, hurt to the depths of her soul, is out for revenge. And she already knows exactly how to ruin Dr. Mavial’s life. Apparently she doesn’t care that she also takes the lives of two completely different families into that trap.

The lives of the Le Quesnoy and Groseille families could not be more different. Where the Le Quesnoy family is terrifyingly perfect, the Groseilles are their antithesis in everything. The children of Le Quesnoy live in a beautiful house, are always neatly dressed, do their best at school, speak with two words, can be found faithfully in church every Sunday and always do exactly what their parents (Hélène Vincent and André Wilms ) ask them. Things are very different at the Groseilles: those children are sleazy, naughty and regularly skip school. The eldest daughter is a slut, the eldest son has just been released from prison and the younger children are already on the criminal path. Both families are turned upside down when they receive a letter from Sister Josette, in which she writes that 12 years ago she switched the identities of two newborn babies. Maurice ‘Momo’ Groseille (Benoît Magimel) is actually the son of the Le Quesnoy family, while little Bernadette (Valérie Lalande) actually belongs to the Groseilles. When they get over the initial shock, the families decide to take action. The Groseilles see a trade in it and ‘sell’ their son to the Le Quesnoys. They in turn don’t want to do it to little Bernadette to live in a dilapidated flat among all that scum and decide to spare the child. But of course they never last long, especially not when the children revolt.

‘La vie est un long fleuve tranquille’ is thematically linked to Dutch hit films from the eighties such as ‘Schatjes’ (1984), ‘Mama is angry’ (1986) and ‘Flodder’ (1986), although the humor lies in this French equivalent a lot less thick on top. The characters are equally caricatured and their backgrounds play an equally crucial role in the story. Momo is the most complete character yet: he may only be twelve years old, but he is certainly the brightest of the whole bunch. With his love and presence he makes his ‘new’ family happy, with his handy and lucrative trades he helps his ‘old’ family. He also believes Bernadette has a right to know the truth about her parentage and brings the children of both his “families” together. Debuting director Étienne Chatiliez (who had become famous with a hamburger commercial) tries to ridicule all facets of French society in his film and succeeds quite nicely, although not every aspect is equally well portrayed. The sneer at the church – with Patrick Bouchitey in a starring role – hits the nail on the head, but the possibilities offered by the theme of racism, for example, are not fully utilized. The acting is excellent across the board, especially from the two young protagonists Magimel and Lalande. Best of them all is Hélène Vincent as the forced-perfect Marielle Le Quesnoy, who struggles to keep her family ‘in the fold’.

The revenge satire ‘La vie est un long fleuve tranquille’ won’t give you a lot of laughter, but a sly smile is certainly impossible to suppress. Although there is a lot to criticize about the film, Chatilliez manages to capture the zeitgeist of the eighties excellently. And although this may make the film a bit dated, it manages to keep the viewer’s attention with his sharp observations. ‘La vie est…’ was extremely popular in France in the eighties and won no fewer than four Césars (including for best supporting actress (Vincent), best debut and best screenplay). The final scene, which shows a mean sense of humor, emphasizes once again that revenge can sometimes taste bittersweet.