Directed by: Arnaud Desplechin
Written by: Arnaud Desplechin, Julie Peyr
Starring: Quentin Dolmaire, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, Mathieu Amalric
In blending Jean-Pierre Jeunet-esque whimsical adventure with a sentimentalised recollection of past love Desplechin straddles and ultimately crosses the line between charm and irksomeness.
Stylistically there’s bold vision here, including breaking the fourth wall and use of archaic irises which emphatically highlight the unreliable storytelling taking place within the film.
However, there’s disorder to the film’s uncertain identity; a Russian doll structure is inelegantly drawn, and there’s a mess of competing voiceovers. Furthermore, My Golden Days is saddled with an unsympathetic character all too familiar from Mia Hansen Løve’s Eden, and it’s his very male fantasy Desplechin seems to endorse.
Though consistently amusing, the narrative direction and central themes of My Golden Days are too confused for it to serve as anything more than light entertainment.
SCENE A LOT OF FILMS 