| My Golden Days | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Arnaud Desplechin |
| Producer: | Oury Milshtein Tatiana Bouchain |
| Starring: | Quentin Dolmaire Lou Roy-Lecollinet Mathieu Amalric |
| Music: | Grégoire Hetzel |
| Cinematography: | Irina Lubtchansky |
| Editing: | Laurence Briaud |
| Studio: | Why Not Productions France 2 Cinéma |
| Distributor: | Le Pacte |
| Runtime: | 120 minutes |
| Country: | France |
| Language: | French |
| Budget: | $4.2 million[1] |
| Gross: | $1.5 million[2] |
My Golden Days (French: '''Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse'''|lit=Three Memories of my Youth), also titled My Golden Years, is a 2015 French drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It stars Quentin Dolmaire, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, and Mathieu Amalric. It is a prequel to the 1996 film My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument.[3] It was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival,[4] where it won the SACD Prize.[5] [6]
Due to a passport problem, an anthropologist Paul is stopped and interrogated at the airport in Paris. He recalls the memories of his youth.
Told in three segments: (1: “Childhood”) Paul argues with his mother and goes and stays with an aunt. His mother dies and his angry father attacks him. (2: “Russia”) Paul is questioned about a passport irregularity. He explains that he went on a school trip to Russia. His Jewish friend agreed to act as a courier, handing over money and books. Paul gave up his passport (3: “Esther”) Paul falls in love with his sister’s friend Esther, beautiful, promiscuous, and unhappy. They meet at parties and begin a long-term relationship, though each has other lovers. Paul studies in Paris but returns home when he can. His tutor dies and he works on a research project in Tajikistan. (“Epilogue”) Paul bumps into Jean-Paul and his wife. Paul says Jean-Paul betrayed him while he was away.
The film had is world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2015.[7] It was released in France on 20 May 2015.[8]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "My Golden Years is a complex, well-acted coming-of-age drama."[9] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[10]
| Award | Year of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabourg Film Festival | 2015 | Best Director | Arnaud Desplechin | [11] | ||
| Cannes Film Festival | 2015 | SACD Prize | My Golden Days | |||
| César Award | 2016 | Best Film | My Golden Days | [12] | ||
| Best Director | Arnaud Desplechin | |||||
| Most Promising Actor | Quentin Dolmaire | |||||
| Most Promising Actress | Lou Roy-Lecollinet | |||||
| Best Original Screenplay | Arnaud Desplechin and Julie Peyr | |||||
| Best Cinematography | Irina Lubtchansky | |||||
| Best Editing | Laurence Briaud | |||||
| Best Original Music | Grégoire Hetzel | |||||
| Best Sound | Nicolas Cantin, Sylvain Malbrant, and Stéphane Thiébaut | |||||
| Best Costume Design | Nathalie Raoul | |||||
| Best Production Design | Toma Baquéni | |||||
| Chicago International Film Festival | 2015 | Best Art Direction | Toma Baqueni | [13] | ||
| Louis Delluc Prize | 2015 | Best Film | My Golden Days | [14] | ||
| Lumières Award | 2016 | My Golden Days | [15] | |||
| Best Director | Arnaud Desplechin | |||||
| Best Male Revelation | Quentin Dolmaire | |||||
| Best Female Revelation | Lou Roy-Lecollinet | |||||
| Best Screenplay | Arnaud Desplechin and Julie Peyr | |||||
| Best Cinematography | Irina Lubtchansky | |||||
| Best Music | Grégoire Hetzel | |||||
| Prix Jacques Prévert du Scénario | 2016 | Best Original Screenplay | Arnaud Desplechin and Julie Peyr | [16] |