Trois jours et une vie

Another story that has been scripted many many times, but which fortunately stands out favorably for its pace and the intricacy of the problems that the main protagonist will face. Simple, but effective implementation. A little extra effort on the makeup side for the adult characters would have been wise when we jump back in time in the last part of the film. The physical resemblance and performance of the actors who play the main character (Jérémie Senez - the young Antoine Courtin and Pablo Pauli - the adult Antoine Courtin) is downright striking and adds to the credibility of the film for the good of it!

Summary

Based on a remarkable novel by Pierre Lemaitre (also the film's screenwriter), Three Days and a Life is a kind of moral essay (in the best sense) on the scope of a tragic incident (plus others of varying severity and characteristics), chance and the passage of time on the destiny of a twelve-year-old boy.

Review

Antoine, a 12-year-old boy who lives in a small town in the Belgian Ardennes, stars in a tragic event whose shadow will be projected over several years of his life.

On each of the days of the title this and two other very dissimilar events occur, but strangely they will operate together on the fate of the protagonist (whom the action takes up several years later) and the knowledge of the truth.

Based on a remarkable novel by Pierre Lemaitre (also the film's screenwriter), Three Days and a Life is a kind of moral essay (in the best sense) about the scope of a specific incident (plus the other two, actually), chance and the passage of time on the destiny of a person and their personal ties.

With a town and a forest (a scenario that would later proliferate in the French and Belgian police), Nicolas Boukhrief's film is more of a drama than a thriller. Or rather: the success and the disturbing thing about this story is the psychology of a protagonist organized in such a way that both territories can alternate but not overlap. There is an asordinate daily life in that battered community (in more ways than one) to which Antoine is reintegrated without problems. Rob's serene soundtrack helps remarkably define that mood.

The performances of Jeremy Senez as the child Antoine, Pablo Pauly as the adult Antoine and Sandrine Bonnaire as a mother capable of expressing a thousand emotions just with her expressions and her silences are highlighted.

If you are looking for something different that the regular Netflix stuff, you will be drawn into a incredible story. I did not read the book so I did not have any expectation. The acting is spot on, beautiful shooting of Belgium countryside and deep storyline that turns unexpected. I love it !

This is a very good thriller, immersive from the first minute, but also with a heart. And especially with an amazing twist in the end, that almost brought tears in my eyes and that may hit home for anyone. With a single word, it rewrites the story, the film, it even shifts the role of main character to another one. I was also pleased to see Sandrine Bonnaire and Charles Berling again, but young Pablo Pauly was the main attraction. Please note I love good American thrillers and don't like European dramas too much, so don't be deterred from seeing this Belgian film just because it's European; it is is a lesson of writing, shooting and acting.

The cinematography is gorgeous and the movie has a great choice of music, scenes are filmed in dynamic shots that are very much character focused.

The story is filled with tention, and some great pieces of dialogue, pacing sometimes feels a bit odd as the movie skips large periods of time however the scenes we did see all serve a purpose.