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I looked over my initial review of My Golden Days, and though I did love the movie, I was a bit down on the film’s final moments. Having re-watched the final act, I’ve completely changed my mind – the climax completely works!!
Director Arnaud Desplechin’s ambitious approach to his narrative, which centers on the life of Paul Dédalus (played by Quentin Dolmaire as a youth and Mathieu Amalric in middle-age), may be a huge reason why I didn’t appreciate the film’s nuances upon the first viewing (or maybe I’m just daft). For a full description of the story, check out my aforementioned review of the film.
Although Desplechin doesn’t offer up audio commentary on the My Golden Days DVD, there’s a 14-minute interview with Desplechin which gives a deeper look into his creative aesthetic. Another featurette (“Two Pauls and Three Esthers: Meeting the Actors from My Golden Days”) features an interview with leads Dolmaire and Lou Roy-Lecollinet. Most of that discussion focuses on their close collaboration with Desplechin and how both parties drew creative inspiration from one another. The featurette also briefly delves into Desplechin’s previous films Esther Kahn (which stars Summer Phoenix) and My Sex Life . . . Or How I Got Into An Argument (this film also features Paul Dédalus, played by Amalric, as the protagonist).
Last but definitely not least is “Casting Session: Paul & Esther,” a four minute video of Dolmaire and Roy-Lecollinet rehearsing a scene from the film. Both actors knock the sequence out of the park, and their chemistry is on full display during this exchange.
The DVD to My Golden Days was just released, and I’ll be giving away one DVD on this week’s episode of CinemAddicts. To enter the giveaway, simply rate and review the podcast on iTunes, and the winner of our weekly giveaways are announced at the end of each episode.
Below is my earlier discussion of My Golden Days on CinemAddicts. I’ll also be talking about it on this week’s episode:
