Les choses de la vie (aka The Things of Life)

press release:

LES CHOSES DE LA VIE: France | 1970 | DCP | 89 min. | French with English subtitles

Director: Claude Sautet; Cast: Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Léa Massari

In the moments following a terrible car accident, the life of Pierre (Piccoli) flashes before his eyes. He particularly focuses on the events that led to his leaving his wife (Massari) for a younger woman (Schneider). The basis for the 1994 Richard Gere vehicle, Intersection, Sautet’s thoughtful drama “quietly and deftly...sketches in the portrait of a man gradually becoming aware that he is coming to a crossroads in his life” (Time Out London).

While Cinematheque audiences have recently had the opportunity to discover the great crime and action movies of French auteur Claude Sautet, like Classe tous risques, Max et le ferrailleurs, and The Dictator’s Guns, the director was better known internationally as the director of more quiet, interpersonal dramas and love stories. This October, we will present four recent restorations of three highly acclaimed Sautet features from the 1970s - Les Choses de la vie, César et Rosalie, Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others - and his masterful final feature from 1995, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud.