CHICAGO– The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is in the midst of a series called “Journeys Through French Cinema.” The theme is based on filmmaker/film historian Bernard Tavernier’s documentary “My Journey Through French Cinema,” and highlights his experiences with the rich cinematic influences of French film. The series, which runs through August 2nd, 2017, is putting the spotlight on “La Choses De La Vie” (The Things of Life) on July 24th.
The 1970 film places a man named Pierre (Michel Piccoli) at a literal crossroads in his life. He had recently left his wife Catherine (Lea Massari) for a new love, Helen (a young Romy Schneider), but is having second thoughts about their coupling. En route to a business trip, he smashes his automobile and is thrown from the car. The film begins with the accident, and reconstructs his life’s dilemma while his comatose body lies in a field of grass. Using the flashback method creates an immediacy to Pierre’s dilemma, and the life-or-death scenario highlights a truth that what seems desperately important can become instantly trivial.
’La Choses De La Vie’ is part of ‘Journeys Through French Cinema’ at the Gene Siskel Film Center
Photo credit: Studiocanal
The film was based on the novel “Intersection,” and was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival. The director Claude Sautet (1924-2000) was known at that point for crime dramas when he adapted and directed this Fellini-like life examination. The film helped to revive the career of Romy Schneider, who went on to act in several of Sautet’s later films, including “Une Histoire simple” (1978), which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has presented cutting edge cinema, as vital part of the school’s offerings, and as a continuous celebration of the cinema for the general public. The Film Center’s programming includes specialized film festivals like “Journeys Through French Cinema, trailblazing work by today’s independent filmmakers, restorations and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and discussions with filmmakers and media artists. The Film Center was renamed the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2000 after the late, nationally celebrated film critic, Gene Siskel.
 | By PATRICK McDONALD |