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Poster for La Joie de vivre

La Joie de vivre

1993 · 80 min

A wry, talky French black comedy that treats a morbid bargain as a genteel game of wits, more amusing than grim.

Directed by
Roger Guillot
Genres
Comedy
Starring
Michel Bouquet, Gwennola Bothorel, Patrick Catalifo
Overview
Monsieur Charme is an old man, and the love of his life passed away some years ago. Despite being wealthy and in relatively good health, he finds that life without her is no longer supportable. Determined to end it all, he approaches Reine, a home-care nurse known for her willingness to bend the rules, and asks her if, in return for receiving his apartment, she will kill him. She readily agrees, and now the fun in this black comedy can begin. It seems that the old man has a nephew who is determined to thwart this scheme at all costs. A battle royal is joined between the ingenuity of the nurse and her willing victim, and the determination of his equally ingenious nephew.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Roger Guillot
Genres
Comedy
Starring
Michel Bouquet, Gwennola Bothorel, Patrick Catalifo
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • absurdstrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • death
  • greed
  • family
  • betrayal
  • morality
Places
  • home
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour7
Realism6
Romance2
Tension4
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight5

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy
Directed by
Roger Guillot
Written by
Josiane Maisse, Roger Guillot
Starring
Michel Bouquet, Gwennola Bothorel, Patrick Catalifo, Micheline Dax, Henri Virlogeux, Kathy Kriegel, Bruce Myers, Marie Mergey
Music
Jean-Claude Nachon, Angélique Nachon
Cinematography
Emmanuel Machuel
Runtime
80 min
Languages
French

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