Film Review: My Golden Days

Paul is an anthropologist working in Tajikistan and preparing to move back to France, which is his home country but he hasn’t been there in decades. During the move he reflects upon his upbringing and the major events of his childhood and young adult life. Paul recounts his issues with his mother and his first real love, and the incident that ended his relationship with his closest friend.

In the interest of full disclosure before I get into the opinion part of the review I would like to state that My Golden Days is in fact a sequel to the 1996 film My Sex Life… Or How I Got Into An Argument, which I have not seen. I believe that one can enjoy My Golden Days without seeing the first film.

Writer director Arnaud Desplechin does a wonderful job of crafting a compelling story, but also of arranging those story elements so that the viewer is easily aware of the time jumps and of what is happening in both timelines. Although My Golden Days’ big accomplishment is with the film’s actors, this film has an extraordinary cast that impresses at every turn. The most impressive are the two young leads Quentin Dolmaire, who plays adolescent Paul, and Lou Roy-Lecollinet who plays Paul’s first love Esther. Watching this film you would never think that neither of these two actors have been in a film before yet both of them clearly have impressive careers ahead of them.

If you are a fan of French cinema or just enjoy a good coming-of-age tale then I recommend that you head out to see My Golden Days even if you haven’t seen its predecessor. My Golden Days will be opening at The Avon Cinema on Friday, April 29.

My Golden Days (2015); AKA Trois Souvenirs De ma Jeunesse; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, Quentin Dolmaire