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La Vie devant soi
1977 Drama
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Credits
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Director: Moshé Mizrahi
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Script: Romain Gary, Moshé Mizrahi
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Photo: Néstor Almendros
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Music: Dabket Loubna, Philippe Sarde
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Cast: Simone Signoret (Madame Rosa),
Michal Bat-Adam (Nadine),
Samy Ben-Youb (Momo),
Gabriel Jabbour (M. Hamil),
Geneviève Fontanel (Maryse),
Bernard La Jarrige (M. Charmette),
Mohamed Zinet (Kadir Youssef),
Elio Bencoil (Moïse),
Stella Annicette (Madame Lola),
El Kebir (Mimoun),
Ibrahim Seck (N'Da Ameder),
Math Samba (Walloumba),
Claude Dauphin (Docteur Katz),
Théo Légitimus (M. Boro)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 105 min
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Aka: A Life Ahead; Madame Rosa
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Summary
Madame Rosa, a former prostitute, lives in a top floor apartment in a mixed race district
of Paris. Although her health is failing, she manages to look after the abandoned
children of prostitutes, including a rebellious young Arab boy named Momo. An Auschwitz
survivor, Madame Rosa imagines that the Nazis are still around and instructs Momo to protect
her from them. Momo faithfully repays his guardian’s kindness by raising money
to support her in her dying days, but he is curious to find out about his own origins.
Review
Simone Signoret gives arguably her greatest performance in this moving melodrama directed
by Moshé Mizrahi. The film explores such issues as racial identity, racial
conflict and memories of the Holocaust with great sensitivity and compassion, making it
a worthy recipient of the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1977. With its understated
direction and emotionally charged performances, La
Vie devant soi manages to be thoroughly engaging and forceful, without ever once
resorting to contrived sentimentality.
The film was based on an acclaimed novel by the celebrated Polish-born writer Romain
Gary (who controversially wrote it under the pseudonym Émile Ajar). The director
Costa-Gavras makes a rare appearance in this film. Signoret would subsequently work
with Mizrahi again
on
Chère inconnue (1980), one of her
last screen roles before her death in 1985.
© James Travers 2004
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