Les Plus Belle Annees D’une Vie (The Best Years of a Life) movie was first on my list for a very busy Sunday. Directed by French Film director Claude LeLouch – it’s a very beautiful film about an older man and woman who reconnect decades later after the man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) starts losing his memory in a nursing home while his son seeks out the woman (Anouk Aimee) – both superb – he was madly in love with 50 years ago. Amazing performances by the two leads in a film that’s both eloquently nuanced and graceful, dealing with real human emotion and the idea that all of us will get old and will start losing our memories. Powerful stuff – especially the line in the movie ‘death is the tax we pay for living.’
Next it was off to the French Riviera Film Festival closing party which was in parallel with Cannes. It was the first edition, however, and recognised and celebrated short-form content created for film, television, Web and all digital platforms, and was held at the Eden Hotel & Spa.
The heavens opened up again in the evening, unfortunately about the same time as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was holding its cocktail party at the stunning Nikki Beach. It was a star-studded event, with Eva Longoria, Robert Pattison, Quentin Tarantino and Helen Miren, among others, supporting HFPA’s cause Help Refugees. The glittering crowd was treated to a performance by the actors from the LGBT ball film ‘Port Authority’ as well as a saxophonist performing on top of the bar.
After midnight an Uber was necessary to get to the Raindance Film Festival party held at the beautiful villa of bad guy actor Sean Cronin and his lovely girlfriend Aleah Leigh. A DJ rocked the multi-level house while the crowd, including Raindance’s Eliot Grove and David Martinez, mingled by the pool, in the living room, and on one of the many terraces. Luckily the rains had stopped, and it wasn’t that chilly outside, so it was a perfect night for al fresco drinking and chatting.
Photos by Tim Baros