My Golden Days… or Another Great Film from Desplechin

By JBFC Programmer Andrew Jupin

There is a select list of filmmakers whose new works instantly become highly anticipated, even mandatory, film events upon release. One such filmmaker is, undoubtedly, Arnaud Desplechin. Since La sentinelle, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992 and went on to the New York Film Festival the same year, Desplechin has been wowing art house audiences with his masterful filmmaking for over two decades.

In fact, long time audience members at the JBFC have had the chance to see several of Desplechin’s films on our screens—including 2004’s Kings and Queen, and his phenomenal A Christmas Tale (2008). Starting Friday, they will be able to add My Golden Days to that list.

My Golden Days is fascinating in that it serves as both a sequel and a prequel to one of Desplechin’s first films, 1996’s My Sex Life… or How I Got Into an Argument. That film introduced us to Paul Dédalus, played by the always fantastic (regardless of the film—I’m looking at you, Quantum of Solace) Mathieu Amalric, a frequent Desplechin collaborator. My Sex Life… finds Dédalus at a crossroads in his life, trying to decide if the path he’s currently on—one that sees him finishing his doctorate and marrying his current girlfriend—is the one he wants to continue, or if he wants to blow the whole thing up and start off in a different direction.

Golden Days catches up with Dédalus, now a distinguished academic, as he prepares to move back to France, having spent several years living in Russia. The film mostly takes place in flashback as we’re introduced to Dédalus as a teenager, played by the exquisite Quentin Dolmaire (in his debut film performance), as he struggles between going to college in another town, and continuing a relationship with his first real love, Esther (Lou Roy-Lecollinet, in yet another promising debut).

It should be no surprise to anyone that all the performances in My Golden Days are top notch; Desplechin is an actor’s director, and has cultivated an impressive stable of collaborators that includes Almeric, Catherine Deneuve, and now, hopefully, will continue to include Dolmaire and Roy-Lecollinet.

Fans of Desplechin will automatically be drawn to My Golden Days by the director’s name alone, but for newcomers unfamiliar with his work, don’t worry about this film being based on previously material—the film is only technically a sequel so you won’t be lost if you haven’t seen My Sex Life… This is a relatable nostalgia trip that anyone and everyone will find themselves hypnotized by. After Golden Days, Desplechin beginners will no doubt leave the theater, very eager to play catch up with Arnaud’s filmography. Feel free to start anywhere, they’re all great.

My Golden Days opens at the JBFC on Friday, March 24. Tickets are on sale now.