Don't Forget You're Going to Die

If you've ever weighed up your life and concluded that it's been something of a waste (and, let's face it, who hasn't?), you may be moved by this excellent film. When faced with the prospect of his imminent death, the bookish protagonist embarks on a short slide of narcotic and sexual pleasure that takes him to Amsterdam and Italy. I was with him all the way.

It's certainly pessimistic. If you don't feel like killing yourself before you see the film, you probably will afterwards.

Xavier Beauvois is a fine film-maker. Most critics, though, failed to see the quality of "Don't Forget You're Going to Die". Beauvoir's next film - "Selon Mathieu" - wasn't even released in the UK.

From escaping from the military service in the very beginning to ultimately becoming a soldier and recklessly urging for death, like a moth to a flame, the whole movie is like a reverse of "Ikiru". It's a movie about waiting for death. It's not so hard for us to notice that the movie is comprised of many events that are not connected at all. We could say it's meaningless, but it might show the true reaction of people who know they're going to die. Despite some immorality, it would be difficult for me to judge Benoit harshly.

The film tells the journey of a young french man named Benoit after he learned that he had contracted the AIDS virus. Xavier Beauvois directs and plays the lead character. An interesting film in which Benoit embarks to an odyssey into the hell of sex and drugs in a desperate move to forget about his condition. The ending is truly surprising. Some scenes are a bit overlong (the drug taking). I was tempted to call this film "the french Trainspotting" but there is no humor to find in this one... score: 8/10.

few admirable scenes. good acting. pieces of a story about a form of fight against life. an exercise by Xavier Beauvois not to convince but to give a sort of testimony about empty life. and the result is not bad. maybe,in some scenes, forced. a film about purpose, honest in its good intentions, cruel in a classic manner , cry from a long tradition, using the classical French cinema clichés but interesting for its beautiful moments. far to be great, it is body for delicate, precise images and that is its basic virtue. so, a good work, touching, cold, in same measure, not coherent at all but the kind of show who remains as few crumbs of memories.

I found this movie disjointed. It makes sense that Benoit might want to sink himself in an oblivion of drink and drugs to forget his pain, but a huge amount of the film was spent on this part of the story, with some drugs scenes in long, unnecessary detail. Then just as you think that this is what the film is about, suddenly, and without warning or any helpful thought process from Benoit, things change. And then again, though later passages are increasingly brief since there's just not time left after the earlier drug marathon. I found myself having to rewind to work out where Benoi was and the explanation (there was usually none) since the changes are so quick and unexpected. The ending feels contrived, rather silly, and very much as if it was just a tag-on of the "how do I end this now?" variety. It makes no sense based on what we have seen of Benoit previously. Throughout, Benoit is a very superficial character, we really get no insight into his feelings or thought processes, and without that, he comes over as cold, selfish, and arbitrary in his actions. You don't feel the sympathy for him that you should. Maybe you are meant to read behind his actions but in my view, too much is left to the imagination .