C'est la vie/That's Life (2001)

Following up on his acclaimed 1999 work Mauvaises frequentations, Jean-Pierre Ameris spins this sensitive, understated drama about mortality. Dimitri (Jacques Dutronc is a Russian-emigre who in spite of his hale appearance, is suffering from a terminal disease. He checks into a French style hospice where he learns to his great shock that the average life expectancy is just short of a month. Far from accepting his condition, he fights the hospice's rules and its staff, until, fed up, he escapes into the countryside. Along the road, he encounters Suzanne (Sandrine Bonnaire), an optimistic, unflappable woman who volunteers at the hospice and soon the sparks even though the romance is inevitably, tragically doomed. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival.

Dimitri is barely fifty when he discovers he has an incurable illness. Leaving his home in Marseilles, he moves into a hospice where he will live out his last few weeks in the company of other terminally ill men and women. The people he encounters make up a rich tapestry of humanity – all age groups, all races, all walks of life are represented. His attention is drawn to a young volunteer helper, Suzanne, who is still lamenting the premature death of her husband. Dimitri himself feels abandoned, having lost contact with his wife and young son. The two form an instant bond and they seem to be made for one another. But time is so short…

Dans un centre medical specialise ou les cas desesperes viennent finir leur vie, un nouvel arrivant, Dimitri, la cinquantaine avancee, se lie avec Suzanne, une soignante trentenaire qui se devoue aux malades depuis le deces de son mari. Ces deux blesses par la vie vont faire un bout de chemin ensemble jusqu’a ce que Dimitri s’eteigne en paix aupres de Suzanne que cet amour aura regeneree.

Director: Jean-Pierre Ameris
Stars: Jacques Dutronc, Sandrine Bonnaire and Emmanuelle Riva
Production land: France
Premiere Date: 28 September 2001 San Sebastian Film Festival
IMDb - 7.0 (299 votes)