This beautiful film has so many layers it is hard to know where to begin. First the acting which is superb without exception and I have to single out Nicolas Maury and Nathalie Baye. The story itself is of Maury struggling against the odds to regain his 'sanity' in a Paris that looks mentally out of control. The early scenes when he confronts his group of friends, and his all too sane lover are both tinged with humour and despair. His lover throws him out and Maury cannot find work as an actor, and this situation drives him home to his mother, played by Baye. Hard not to give away more spoilers, but I am resisting. I also felt while watching this film that we all need to recognise our loss of so-called traditional 'sanity' and that only then do we recognise the true worth of life. Two key scenes showed this; one with Maury and his mother towards the end where her true feelings towards her deceased husband are revealed, and the other with his now estranged veterinarian lover who struggles to save Maury's beloved dog's life. Rarely has such maturity been shown so vividly on screen, and Maury who was also director of the film shows every nuance possible of these troubled relationships. But nothing prepared me for the impact of the ending; for the beauty it showed in its hopeful rebirth of a continuing and possibly better life. I urge viewers to watch this masterpiece of film making and to wonder how it is that French film can also surprise us with its wisdom and its force of renewal. I left this cinematic experience feeling that it is best after all to live from day to day, and that is perhaps a thought that could save us all. A well deserved 10.
Review of My Best Part
