Viva la vie (1984) User Reviews

A weird, intriguing, but unsatisfying film

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 25 March 2014]

"Viva La Vie!" can be described as a lot of things - mystery, sci-fi, pro-nuclear disarmament statement, espionage - but what it is above all is a hoax. After an apocalyptic grabber of an opening, director Claude Lelouch appears as himself and requests from the audience not to spoil the film for those who have not seen it yet; there are indeed many surprises in "Viva La Vie!", but the last one - which, essentially, is a SPOILER "it was all a dream" type of ending END SPOILER - does not leave the viewer with a feeling of satisfaction; it most likely leaves him or her with a feeling of emptiness. The film still contains some intriguing concepts, images and sounds, and is well acted by a top French cast, but it's more of an odd curiosity than a successful cinematic experiment. ** out of 4.

Pompous Nonsense - verging on the soporific

[nicholas.rhodes · 5/10 · 7 July 2007]

The price of the DVD of this film which is now available in France, under 2 euros, is some indication of what the film is worth, I'm sorry to say. I remember seeing the film many years ago and wondering what the hell it was all about. A viewing of the DVD recently produced the same effect. The only good points about this film are its catchy theme music and some wide shots as well as the inclusion of Charles Aznavour as a restaurant owner and other well known French actors of the time. The main interest of the film is the premise, which turns out to be a dream, of the sun being unable to shine any more upon the earth, due to its rays being blocked by a new planet in the solar system. I thought this could have been the start of something interesting but the rest of the film is incomprehensible to me. It touches on the themes of extraterrestrials warning the super powers on earth not to make war on each other as they earth is producing energy which they ( the extraterrestrials ) need for their survival and if they ( the extraterrestrials ) are deprived of this energy source, they they will wipe out the human race so as not to have any more trouble. Is this true or just a hoax ? God Knows ? There are various scenes in the film of Michel Piccoli and Evelyne Bouix getting up to strange antics and I don't really get the point of it. Unfortunately, this is typical of Lelouch's style, and one gets the feeling, as usual that in making the film, he his more concerned with making pleasure to himself than to his spectators. It should be stated that this kind of Sci-Fi thriller is not really typical of French cinema and is better left to the Americans who are specialists in films about invaders and invasions. Remains a plethora of well known actors and Charles Aznavour whom we see on numerous occasions digging into tins of caviar !

Underrated highlight of the French cinema

[TimG-2 · 9/10 · 19 April 2000]

After four minutes of this enigmatic French movie its director Claude Lelouch himself appears on the screen. In a radio interview he insists that one should watch his new film without knowing anything about the story. So I won't tell either what is exactly happening in "Viva la vie!". Nonetheless, I'd like to give a few hints: It is a mixture of thriller, mystery and sci-fi. In a broader sense it has to do with the fear of a nuclear holocaust which is quite typical of the 1980s. This movie is a strange puzzle: Not before the end titles you will be able to put the pieces together which Lelouch has scattered in front of you during the last 105 minutes. After circa one hour you might ask: What on earth is it all about? Don't worry, you'll find the answer in the end. But to recapitulate the story which you'll then see in a different light, at least one further watching will be necessary.

Considering the baffling story as well as the row of good actors (Piccoli, Rampling, Trintignant…), "Viva la vie!" is an underrated highlight of the French cinema in the 80s. 9/10

Reminded me somewhat of Charlie Kaufman's scripts.

[un_samourai · 9/10 · 6 March 2013]

First off, the IMDb rating is criminal. 'Viva La Vie' should be averaging in the highest 7's IMO. On the positive side, going in with such low expectations, I was floored by how cool, and progressive this film is, and it's given me another under-exposed, excellent film to prosthelytize about to fellow film fans.

It's a fascinating film that I'd highly recommend to art house film lovers. I watched this film with a friend who is a fellow cinema fan, who can reasonably often have a different opinion than me on films. He loved it too, and we were both puzzled at the super low average this film has received.

I guess you could say that some people would be a little lost trying to decipher this film, but most should have no problem what so ever. To me, there are Charlie Kaufman qualities to this script. It keeps you guessing what is illusion and what is reality.

The Criterion Collection needs a few Claude Lelouch films, and this one is a prime candidate of a hidden gem. 'Le Voyou' would be a good pick as well. One doesn't want to know much about the plot going in, and Claude Lelouch actually turns up in the film to urge viewers to not spoil it for people who haven't yet seen the film.