A Much Better Existence (Une vie meilleure)

A L'ensemble des Films du Lendemain presentation in co-production with Maia Cinema, Cinemaginaire, Mars Films, France 2 Cinema, using the participation of Canal Plus, France Televisions, Cine Plus, using the support of los angeles Region Ile-p-France, Center Images-Region Center, in colaboration with Soficinema 7 Developpement, Soficinema 7, La Banque Postale Image 4, Manon, Cinemage 5, using the participation of Telefilm Canada, Societe p Developpement des Entreprises Culturelles, Quebec Credit d'impot Cinema et Television -- Gestion Sodec, Credit d'impot Pour Film ou Video Canadien. (Worldwide sales: Wild Bunch, Paris.) Created by Kristina Larsen. Co-producers, Gilles Sandoz, Denise Robert, Daniel Louis. Directed by Cedric Kahn. Script, Kahn, Catherine Paille.With: Guillaume Canet, Leila Bekhti, Slimane Khettabi. (French dialogue)A prepare, his g.f. and her youthful boy find it difficult to pay the bills in "A Much Better Existence," a steadily made, psychologically effective hard-luck drama that nevertheless feels as though a rather odd fit for Gallic thriller specialist Cedric Kahn. Throwing off a couple of brisk, dramatically chiseled reels before settling into an progressively bleak cycle of poverty and misfortune, this well-behaved item basically boils lower to some Euro-Canadian "Quest for Happyness" having a steelier, less sentimental edge. A powerful lead performance by actor-helmer Guillaume Canet could raise the film's already respectable offshore prospects following its The month of january rollout in France. Script by Kahn and Catherine Paille demonstrates a nice feeling of narrative economy in early stages, zipping assuredly with the initial phases of the relationship between Yann (Canet), a thirtysomething Parisian prepare, and Nadine (Leila Bekhti), the gorgeous French-Lebanese waitress he chats up in a restaurant where he's searching for work. The 2 fall rapidly but deeply for each other, while Yann also becomes near to Nadine's 9-year-old boy, Slimane (Slimane Khettabi). Trouble rears its mind not lengthy following the enthusiasts impulsively purchase a large lakeside property inside a secluded province using the aim of making it a cafe or restaurant. Probably the most satisfying facets of "A Much Better Existence" is its focus on the entire process of small-business acquisition the dangerous turning financial loans Yann uses to invest in the acquisition and also the particulars of restaurant sanitation code might not seem such as the stuff of riveting drama, however for a remarkable stretch of screentime they're. Pic persuasively demonstrates not just the way a couple of questionable choices can get out of hand, but additionally how rapidly tenderness and affection can look to bitterness and emotional violence when confronted with crippling poverty. More often than once, Yann and Nadine arrived at verbal if less than physical blows, passed by Canet and Bekhti having a canny embodiment of passion and frustration. So when a given-up Nadine leaves France to consider a apparently lucrative job in Montreal leaving Slimane behind, Yann and also the boy begin their very own tough dynamic within the film's more grinding other half. To not be mistaken with Chris Weitz's recent "A Much Better Existence" (though that drama also hinged on the father and boy beset by financial desperation), Kahn's film consists of nary just one unconvincing moment, ratcheting in the emotional tension with one believably soul-crushing circumstance to another. From Yann's tense discussions having a stern but good-hearted financial counselor to his fury at Slimane once the boy requires a risk they literally can not afford, the drama remains dramatically focused and particular towards the finish. When the result disappoints slightly, it's due largely towards the nagging familiarity of setup and destination, especially from a director most widely known for his twisty thrillers of sexual stress for example "Red-colored Lights" and "L'ennui." Pic is with confidence hired in most departments, offerring a particularly vivid feeling of the cramped, crowded quarters by which this makeshift family frequently finds itself -- first a rundown trailer home, a squalid apartment.Camera (color, widescreen), Pascal Marti editor, Simon Jacquet music, Akido set designers, Francois Abelanet, Emmanuel Frechette costume designer, Nathalie Raoul seem, Olivier Mauvezin, Marie-Claude Gagne, Sylvain Bellemare, Olivier Do Huu. Examined at Toronto Film Festival (Special Presentations), Sept. 10, 2011. (Also in Tokyo, japan Film Festival.) Running time: 111 MIN. Contact Justin Chang at justin.chang@variety.com