La Baule-les Pins (aka C'est La Vie)

Description: C'est la vie Aka: La Baule-les-Pins is the third in a loose trilogy of semi-autobiographical films in which director Diane Kurys draws on her experiences of childhood and adolescence. It follows Diabolo menthe (1977), her promising debut film, and Coup de foudre (1983), regarded as her best film to date. July 1958 13-year-old Frederique and her 8-year-old sister Sophie set out from their home in Lyons to spend their summer holiday in La Baule, on the northwest coast of France. This year, however, neither their mother Lena nor their father Michel is accompanying them. Instead, they are put into the care of Odette, the housemaid. Unaware that their parents are on the point of separating, Frederique and Sophie settle into their usual holiday routine, amusing themselves with their cousins and playing practical jokes on all and sundry. The girls are delighted when their mother arrives, but the absence of their father causes them some anxiety. One day, Lena is surprised to find her lover, Jean-Claude, on the beach. An aspiring artist, he is planning to start a new life in New York, and he invites Lena to join him...