a review of

La vie à l'envers turned out to be an intriguing watch, pleasantly reminiscent of the comparably experimental and contemplative Un Homme qui Dort (1974). La vie à l'envers follows a man who is longing to escape the superficiality of everyday life, resulting in increasingly idiosyncratic behavior. Escaping societal expectations turns out to make him genuinely happy, for the first time in his life. But at the same time he drifts away from everyone, and descends into madness, or should I say ascends into madness? Because that's one of the intriguing aspects of La vie à l'envers. I know the lead character's aberrant concoctions and behavior are generally considered to be insane, but at the same time I could identify myself with his contrarious thoughts and acts. Last but not least, the cinematography of La vie à l'envers is also quite refreshing. Immersive pans, viewpoints and close-up shots add to the experience. And the scene in which the main character dances to North African music in his room undoubtedly formed an inspiration for similar scenes in one of my all-time favorite films: Le Mari de la Coiffeuse (1990).