La vie est un roman
| Life Is a Bed of Roses | |
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Theatrical release poster (artwork: Enki Bilal)
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| Directed by | Alain Resnais |
| Produced by | Philippe Dussart |
| Written by | Jean Gruault |
| Starring |
Vittorio Gassman Ruggero Raimondi Fanny Ardant Geraldine Chaplin Pierre Arditi |
| Music by | Philippe-Gérard |
| Cinematography | Bruno Nuytten |
| Edited by | Albert Jurgenson |
| Distributed by | AAA-Soprofilms Distribution |
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Release date
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Running time
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110 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $2.3 million |
Life Is a Bed of Roses (French: La vie est un roman) is a 1983 French film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Jean Gruault. The English-language distribution title of the film is Life Is a Bed of Roses, though it has also been known as Forbek's Castle and Life Is a Fairy Tale. A literal translation of the original title is "Life is a novel [or story, romance]"; in the film the French quotation (or misquotation) is attributed to Napoleon.
The film interweaves three stories from different eras but sharing a common location, in the forest of Ardennes.
In legendary times, the baby son of a king is rescued by his nurse when his father is killed by a rival. When the boy grows up, he kills a dragon, rescues a maiden, and reclaims his kingdom, to initiate a reign of love and happiness.
In 1914, the wealthy Count Forbek announces to his friends his plan to build an extravagant castle, a "temple of happiness", as a home for himself and for them, which he will dedicate to Livia, the woman he intends to marry. His plans are disrupted by the onset of the First World War, and Livia marries Raoul, an army officer; but in 1920 the castle is sufficiently complete for Forbek to entertain his friends there. He invites them all to participate in an experiment in which their present discontents and all their memories will be wiped away when they drink a potion, and they will be reborn as new people, re-educated to live in perfect harmony. Livia alone secretly avoids drinking the potion and observes its effect on the others. When she learns that Raoul has died in the experiment, she denounces Forbek's scheme, and he is devastated by her rejection.
In the 1980s, the castle has been converted into the Institut Holberg, a progressive school and teacher-training establishment. An educational conference brings together delegates who include Walter Guarini, a utopian architect, Nora Winkle, an American anthropologist, Elisabeth Rousseau, an earnest provincial schoolmistress, and Roger Dufresne, a games expert at the Institute. The determination of Georges Leroux, the conference convenor, to unite everyone in shared ideals of how the next generation should be educated is subverted when Elisabeth's demonstration of her practical method of integrated teaching provokes an outbreak of ideological disputes. Meanwhile, Nora's mischievous plan to foster a romance between Elisabeth and Roger has completely contrary results. The conference breaks up in disarray.
Vittorio Gassman, as Walter Guarini
Ruggero Raimondi, as Michel Forbek
Geraldine Chaplin, as Nora Winkle
Fanny Ardant, as Livia Ceraskier
Pierre Arditi, as Robert Dufresne
Sabine Azéma, as Elisabeth Rousseau
Robert Manuel, as Georges Leroux
Martine Kelly, as Claudine Obertin
Samson Fainsilber, as Zoltan Forbek
Véronique Silver, as Nathalie Holberg
André Dussollier, as Raoul Vandamme
Cathy Berberian, as the Nurse
Philippe Laudenbach, as The educator
Marie Rivière
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