1945. As Auschwitz is being liberated, Hélène is taken on a death march with Lili and Rose. Separated from her friends, she resumes her life in Paris, where she becomes a fashion designer and marries Henri, her first love who was also deported. 15 years later, after searching everywhere, Hélène finally finds her friends. During three days in sunny Berck-Plage, the women share their first real meal, their first real swim, and their first memories of survival, with laughter and tears…

Picture gallery

The origin of Jean-Jacques Zilbermann’s movie is his mother’s story, who survived Auschwitz with Paulette and Annie, and spent time with them at the beach every year. A la vie offers two kinds of memories: those of the Holocaust, and the more intimate ones of Zilbermann’s family. In both cases, the director of L'homme est une femme comme les autres is unable to strike a chord and give his characters any real depth. But the main weakness of the film is the starring role given to Julie Depardieu, who has a relatively flimsy narrative arc, which she then makes worse with a feeble performance. A choice that is even more regrettable because the excellent Johanna ter Steege and Suzanne Clément, one of Xavier Dolan’s muses, are relegated to supporting roles in this flat melodrama.