Diagonaldi Very well executed

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Karl Self La vie ... is one of the movies I have rewatched and reliked over a long period of time. Incredibly, this was the first movie for the filmmaker and most of his actors, who nonetheless managed to deliver time-proof quality.This is a very dark movie which pitches two families against each other - - the ne'er-do-well Grosseilles and the terribly nice Le Quesnoy family of the local electricity works director. As it turns out, a jilted nurse switched their newborns 12 years ago, which might account for the boy's criminal intelligence and the daughter's predilection for dressing up as a tart. Sit back and watch one family squander their fortunes, and the other family fall into social decline.

Sasha01 Etienne Chatiliez has produced an excellent film. His analysis of a part of French society (snobbish, ultra catholic and well-thinking) is absolutely realist. You will laugh, smile or hate if you are like them!

dbdumonteil June 1987. Lille, in the North of France. Two families live in this big town. On one hand, the "Le Quesnoy", a wealthy family. The father is the manager of "EDF", the mother stays at home and the children are well brought up. On the other hand, the "Groseille" a poor family who lives in a small flat. The father took part in the Algerian War, the mother is listless and the children are delinquents. Apparently, these two families have got nothing in common. However, twelve years ago, two children have been exchanged by a nurse who was left by her lover. They will be given back to their real families..... .....and it won't be easy. It's Etienne Chatiliez's first film and it's very successful. The description of the two families is satirical and it never falls into the caricature. The "Le Quesnoy" are never showing signs of conceit or hypocrisy, they're even a bit ridiculous. The movie is very strong thanks to its actors who are mostly incredible: of course, the main actors :Hélène Vincent won the César for the best actress in 1989. Her portrait and some of her words are irresistible (it's monday, it's raviolis). Benoit Magimel who fits well in the role of Maurice. He's smart and impish. But the minor actors too: Patrick Bouchitey in his role of ecclesiastic, (The scene in which he sings "Jésus reviens etc..." during a party is absolutely brillant and funny, Daniel Gélin, a wistful doctor and a wicked lover. At last, the screenplay is full of little details or words that score the bull's eye. The best example is when Bernadette's spreading her soup on the table during a dinner which means that she doesn't belong to her family circle. To sum up: one of the funniest movies of the eighties.

bobgask Unlike the feel good, "everything turns out for the best," "innate human goodness" fluff comedies that we see in the US, this film is based on the proposition that, under pressure, everyone falls to the level of the lowest common denominator.Years in the past a scorned nurse/lover switched newborns to spite the doctor who was the subject of her ire. When it was revealed, in the present, that these families from opposite sides of the track had each raised the other's son to his early teens, they set about to make it right. After all, there was enough success to go around. Right?Rather than bringing everyone up to the level of the wealthy politician's family, however, the children (siblings included) become a lot of foul mouthed, cigarette smoking, truants who enjoy their delinquent lives to the fullest. Naturally, the parents follow suit.No one is immune. The film is a keeper, though the humor is decidedly French and some subtleties are likely lost in the translation.