The behind-the-scenes production of The First Day of the Rest of My Life

An enduring love for the theme of family

"The First Day of the Rest" is the second feature film of Rémy Besan?on's career. Following "My Life in the Air" Ma vie en l'air, this time the director chose family as the theme.

What role does family play in the trajectory of life? How much weight does freedom have? These questions were reflected in the first film, My Life in the Sky, and in previous short films. Each character in the movie will give his or her own answer.

Although the film is full of humor and vitality, "The First Day of My Life" still casts a sentimental and nostalgic tone. Time has passed irrevocably, and childhood seems to be a lost paradise forever. Director Besan?on has his own understanding of the relationship between family and time: "It is in a family that we can feel the passage of time more closely, with grown-up children and aging parents, but from different perspectives. Go, the scenery is different. Everyone in the family is developing their own relationship with time: Albert is moving forward without looking back with regret, and he is advancing his life in an accelerated way; Rafael is moving forward. On the contrary, he slowed down the pace of life. For him, tomorrow seemed like an eternity; if Flora was ready to put her room in the basement in order to grow old as quickly as red wine, then her mother Marie-Jeanne hoped that time would Stay, or preferably go back to the past; as for Robert, he adheres to the hedonism of living one day at a time. "The director said that it is very interesting to compare the pace of life of all these characters. Among children, parents, and grandparents, parents always think that their children have never grown up, even if they have already had gray hair.

Five-in-one narrative structure

Director Besan?on traced the life of the Duval family in the film. He chose to extract special moments from twelve years of family life. Five Days is given a title to unfold the narrative. Why such a narrative structure is adopted? The director explained: "Taking each family member as the starting point, each chooses the most important day for them. This idea was determined when the script was written. Even though they live under the same roof, everyone Individuals still have uniqueness that is different from their families. Such a five-pointed structure can better reflect this difference. Each day of the five days is related to a family member, and the camera follows it from early morning to late at night. Although the perspective changes, the lives of other characters are not ignored. Rather than being a choir-like film with a lead singer and a chorus, this is a film with five protagonists in a family. How it affects other people. Another advantage of this is that it allows most of the time to be omitted, hoping to leave the audience space to imagine what happened in these omitted times. ”

Of course, even though all five protagonists are equally important, each segment of the film still has its own uniqueness in terms of shooting techniques. Besan?on and his chief cinematographer Antoine Monod agreed that each day in the film should have its own logical structure, thus highlighting the personality traits of the characters he follows that distinguish him from his family members. The director revealed: "For example, on the day when the eldest son Albert was moving out of the house, we shot short distances to highlight the sense of distance, increase the intimacy between family members, and then portray the characters' struggle for independence; Flora's That day, the final scene of the little daughter running wildly in the street was shot with a hand-cranked camera; while when filming the little son Rafael Aiyar, a stabilizer was used to capture his image. For the mother Marie-Jeanne, in order to The background behind was blurred and shot from a distance; in the end, Robert wanted a calm image, a light that could outline lines, so he used some thought on the lighting.

Film Music

Based on the happy collaboration with the previous film "My Life in the Sky", director Besan?on invited singer Sinclair to produce the original soundtrack of the film. "I was very happy to work with Sinclair when I made the first movie, so I decided to find him this time." Sinclair was one of the few people who saw the script for the first time, and Besan?on started discussions with him very early. During filming, Sinclair was often on set to capture the mood of the film. When editing, I also take great care to ensure that the music and images are in perfect harmony. The director is very satisfied with the cooperation with Sinclair.

In addition to the music tailor-made for the movie, the director also chose many old songs from the 1970s and 1980s as movie inserts. Regarding the selection of these songs, Besan?on said: "Generally speaking, I try to find music that annotates the scene that is happening. For example, Janis Joplin's version of "Summertime", I think that is the type of Marie-Jeanne, she must be I like it. Sometimes, what touches me is the contrast between the lyrics and the scene. For example, the scene of "In pursuit of happiness" after the car accident and the ghostly song "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed at the end of the film are enriched by these music."

About the actor

Jacques Gamblin, who plays his father Robert, often plays depressed and humble people in French movies, but there is something about him that makes people trust him with peace of mind. temperament. After accepting director Besan?on's invitation, Jacques began discussing the role with the director very early.

Besan?on was very happy with this: "For a director, it is a joy to see an actor approach the role with such precision. It is a pleasure to guide him. His instinct and perfectionism, his charm and Elegance constitutes an incongruous mixture. He is from the earth and the moon at the same time. There is something very touching about him.

Another highlight of the film is Deborah who plays the younger daughter. Francois. This Belgian girl who came out of the film "The Child" that won the Palme d'Or by the Dardenne brothers has now become a hot star in the French film industry. From the initial rebellion to the later trend in the film. Calm, Deborah Francois showed an image of a girl as active as a rabbit and as quiet as a virgin. With her performance in this film, she deservedly won the 2009 French César Award for Best Newcomer.