Das Leben ist süß (1990)

Das Leben ist süß: Directed by Mike Leigh. With Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks. A shop assistant, her cook husband, u0026 their twin daughters ponder their lives over a few weeks in a working-class suburb north of London.

“… as is the case with many films in the Criterion collection, because this film does not set things up nicely for you. It is a slow reveal for all of the characters with the basic theme of u0026quot;hope springs eternalu0026quot; or maybe u0026quot;Life is what you make of itu0026quot;. So after I had gotten a feel for the characters I went back and rewatched it to see what I didnu0026#39;t pick up the first time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe focus of the film is a working class London family. Wendy works in a shop as a salesperson. Her husband is a chef in a restaurant. They got married at 17 – with her having to drop out of college – due to her pregnancy that produced twin girls. Youu0026#39;d think then that this would be about their disappointment with how their lives turned out, but they are almost annoyingly positive. Wendy is the strong one, always smiling. Husband Andy is also always smiling and seems easily led by his friends. He just never gets around to fixing things around the house, and one friend (Stephen Rea), an obvious con artist, works his magic on Andy and gets him to spend money he does not have on a broken down fast food van. Andy has dreams of fixing it up and going into business for himself as he hates his job. And oddly enough Wendy doesnu0026#39;t explode at this expense and is very supportive. She seems to laugh her way through life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne thing that she canu0026#39;t laugh through though is her daughter Nicola. She is about twenty, anorexic, a chain smoker, and completely hostile to everybody. She just sits in her room all day blurting out insults to everybody. You wonder if she is starving herself in hopes she will eventually just disappear. The other daughter seems well adjusted enough and is working as a plumber. She seems sexually ambiguous, and though nothing in the plot goes in that direction, I had to wonder if that is just me stereotyping or if it is the fact the film is 30 years old and films stereotyped too back in those days.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe familyu0026#39;s other friend is Aubrey whose u0026quot;big dreamu0026quot; is a Parisian themed restaurant. But his taste in decor is bizarre and tacky, he selects employees based on tenuous personal connections, and he has placed his restaurant between two businesses that would not bring foot traffic – one is a medical equipment supplier, and he has forgotten to advertise the restaurant. The result is disastrous.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe best scene in the film is one between Patsy and Nicola in which they finally have a confrontation. So much of what I have said is explained in just this one scene. Patsy does have an inner core, she can be serous and Nicola can be reached, whether she wants to admit it or not. Somebody should have gotten an Academy Award nomination just for this scene.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you donu0026#39;t like this the first time, then give it a second try. I think it will grow on you.”