Customer Reviews

Life Is A Long Quiet River [DVD]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This has to be one of my favourite films since first seeing it in 1988.

A posh, pretentious family and a bunch of slobs are brought together by circumstance. A vengeful nurse in the maternity ward swapped their newborn babies at birth, and the truth has just emerged. The two families, their contrasting lifestyles and their homes are portrayed with great humour and at the same time a gentle affection.

The minor characters are superbly written and acted......the guitar-playing would- be trendy priest, the excitable Asian grocer, the downtrodden maidservant, the sadistic primary teacher, all add to the texture.

Although the story has a serious subtext of social inequality, the film can be watched just for fun.

If like me you love the North of France (Lille, Roubaix ,Tourcoing) then you will probably already have seen it. If not, what are you waiting for?

Two French families in the 60s (?) two contrasting classes and values suddenly thurst together by Momo - the child who got swapped and now become the go-between. Warm and funny. Love Momo. Who can resist?

The first time I watched this movie was... ten years ago, at school, in our Sociology class.

Two children have been swapped at the hospital by a nurse. They are raised in two opposite families. A rich, religious and well-educated family for the first. A horrible, ill-educated family of parasits for the second.

The interaction between these two extremes is caricatured. The humour is very dark and can be felt as slightly disturbing at times. The characters are all lively and expressive but, in the end, you will probably only appreciate the movie for its humour if you have a craving for that very particular type of cynic comedy.

Apart from that, Life is a long quiet river shows the different parameters which will influence a being : the power of blood, the way we have been raised and the influence of others.

This is a social satyre which points out how nature and nurture inextricably mingle.

OK but not as amusing as I would expect from previous films from this director. Unlikely to want to watch it again

You either love it or hate it. This is black humor and utterly funny! I guess you need to be either French or proficient in French to be able to enjoy this film. There are subtitles of course but it does not reflects the film's satirical point of view.

I bought this film after having enjoyed a (subsequent) film by director Etienne Chatieliez, 'Le Bonheur Est Dans Le Pre' . This was a warm and funny film about someone who assumes another's identity, and so changes their life.
"Life is a Long Quiet River" also deals with swopped identities, but after the initial denoument there's very little plot movement, and the whole thing is thin on the ground and far too long.

I found "Life is a Long Quiet River" a real disappointment- I strongly advise you to watch 'Le Bonheur' instead, it's so much better!