This Life of Mine

AroView: A French mid-life crisis dramedy that marches to its own charming rhythm thanks to a superb performance by Agnès Jaoui, and the singular sensibility of writer-director Sophie Fillières, who suddenly passed away after completing the shoot and had to leave the editing supervision to her two children.

It’s reported that Jaoui barely recognized herself in the role of Barbie, a frustrated poetic soul who finds herself increasingly unmoored from her work, her grown-up children and her modest middle-class reality at the age of 55. As her world starts to close in, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and finds reprieve in the most unlikely of places. The film is a droll, tragicomic testament to life’s messy, absurd and amusing details (like the process of choosing a font, for instance), and one that delights in a road less travelled. ★★★★

_Trivia: The actress is best known as the director of French comedy hits The Taste of Others (2000) and Look At Me (2004). _

French title: Ma vie ma gueule

“The movie’s dialogue could be published to be savored at leisure, but its brilliant pace and tone owe a huge amount to Jaoui, whose Barbie is one of the greatest, most inspired and imaginative performances I’ve seen onscreen in a while.” ~Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“A sweet curio enriched by Agnes Jaoui’s depiction of a woman whose journey to locate herself will resonate with many women.” ~Nadine Whitney, The Curb