{"id":34171,"date":"2020-05-27T20:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T18:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=34171"},"modified":"2025-12-04T22:26:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T21:26:33","slug":"the-things-in-life-remain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/cinema\/films\/les-choses-de-la-vie-restent\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abThe Things in Life that Remain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cinema Wednesdays<\/a> - Special edition: Tribute to Michel Piccoli - Loris S. Musumeci<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two tributes in one film, or even three while we're at it. A tribute to Michel Piccoli, a tribute to Jean-Loup Dabadie, both of whom passed away in recent days, and a tribute to Claude Sautet, who left us twenty years ago. Things in life<\/em> is all the more significant in honoring the memory of these three men as it had a profound impact on their careers and lives. It made Piccoli popular, gave Dabadie the opportunity to write his first screenplay - and not the least! -and (re)launched Sautet's cinema, who finally found his style with this film, as well as his favorite actress Romy Schneider.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Pierre (Michel Piccoli) est architecte. La quarantaine, la t\u00eate un peu d\u00e9garnie, mais il se maintient bien. Sa compagne, H\u00e9l\u00e8ne (Romy Schneider), est beaucoup plus jeune que lui. La diff\u00e9rence d\u2019\u00e2ge ne semble pas la g\u00eaner. Parce qu\u2019elle est folle de Pierre. Elle le d\u00e9sire, le caresse, le touche. Elle cherche sans cesse son regard. Tr\u00e8s amoureuse, et donc jalouse. De l\u2019ex-femme de Pierre, Catherine, avec laquelle celui-ci entretient d\u2019excellents rapports. Leur fils, Bernard, les lie. Sa vie de p\u00e8re, sa vie d\u2019homme mari\u00e9, en somme sa vie d\u2019homme normal a l’air de lui manquer. H\u00e9l\u00e8ne, il l\u2019aime, oui, mais ce n\u2019est pas toujours facile de suivre le rythme d\u2019une femme plus jeune, qui r\u00eave encore de voyages et d\u2019aventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Pierre no longer knows what he wants. He no longer knows where he stands. And he has the opportunity to think, to reflect, to look back, and to be moved by his recent past, by the little things in life<\/em>, just as life is slipping away. The entire plot of the film unfolds between his car accident and his peaceful death in the hospital. In his long inner monologue, he tells himself that he is tired\u2014very tired\u2014but that he\u2019s okay; he opens his eyes just a crack until he can make out the light. Until his gaze fades into the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also: A heart in winter<\/em>, parce qu’il est trop tard…<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le temps n\u2019a plus d\u2019importance. On ne sait combien de temps aura dur\u00e9 l\u2019agonie de Pierre, parce que tout est per\u00e7u, rythm\u00e9 et racont\u00e9 \u00e0 travers lui, ses souvenirs et ses r\u00eaves. La photographie est r\u00e9gie par des effets de flou, sous les gouttes d\u2019eau, sous la lumi\u00e8re qui envahit l’\u00e9cran, par des gros plans o\u00f9 Pierre se regarde lui-m\u00eame lors de ses joies, sourire aux l\u00e8vres, lors de ses angoisses, en sueur. Des gros plans aussi, sur ce qui a vraiment compt\u00e9 pour lui: un \u00abJe t\u2019aime\u00bb tap\u00e9 \u00e0 la machine, une invention m\u00e9canique de son fils, la compagnie de son ami Fran\u00e7ois, le visage de Catherine, le corps d\u2019H\u00e9l\u00e8ne. Le rythme est aussi soumis \u00e0 la phase entre la mort et la vie: la sc\u00e8ne de l\u2019accident en lui-m\u00eame entrecoupe les sc\u00e8nes de souvenirs, elle ponctue le r\u00e9cit. Alternance entre la violence de l\u2019accident et la douceur des pens\u00e9es. Enfin, c\u2019est H\u00e9l\u00e8ne's Song<\/em> by Philippe Sarde, which overshadows everything else: the rhythm is drowned out by the water along with Pierre\u2019s voice, the loved ones are told of his death, and the entire image becomes blurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I walked with Pierre, I wondered what the things in life<\/em> the things we thought of as we were about to die. I believe that, like Peter, we think of what was beautiful. Of what might have been\u2014or might not have been. We think of our friends. Of loves that were always grand, never fulfilled; always fantasized about in all their glory, never experienced except in simplicity. We think of the little habits: the morning cigarette, the coffee, the drinks shared with others. The details. We think of our doubts; we think of our regrets. Of our heartaches. And we see that what really mattered, in the end, is very little compared to everything else. But everything else fades away. Very little remains. The little things in life remain. In the light. In the absence. In the end. Today we\u2019re here; tomorrow, we don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n