S.and a friend is successful, are we happy for him? Indeed no: if a friend is more successful than us, are we happy for him? Can we really be? It is around the answers to these questions that it revolves The happiness of others2020 French film by Daniel Cohen with Vincent Cassel, broadcast tonight, August 17th, at 9.20pm on Rai 3.
The answer given by the film is anything but “politically correct”, quite the contrary it brings out all the gut feelings, the most shameful and restrained, but also the most sincere and human. Not empathizing will be difficult.
The happiness of othersthe triumph of envy
Released in theaters last summer, this one comedy French defined by critics as “bad”, deserves to be seen (or reviewed). Play with one of the most natural and ugly feelings there is: envy. A sort of creeping and stinging burning that leads to hurting those who are better than us. Dante in Divine Comedy puts the envious in the second circle of Purgatory. He shows them how blind, because the eyes are sewn with an iron wire, and tears are leaking from the seams. The meaning is that in life they did not look at others, but at what they possessed and desired, therefore in the afterlife they are forced not to look with their eyes, but must strive to do so with their heart. What a pain…
And in the movie The happiness of others (Le Bonheur Des Uns, the original French title) since the friends (or presumed ones) and even the husband of the person who is successful (an unpublished Vincent Cassel non-macho), they just can’t help being envious, a series of funny episodes that make you smile are born and develop. But also reflect.
The happiness of others: the plot
The protagonists are two couples: Lea (Bérénice Bejo) And Marc (Vincent Cassel), Karine (Florence Foresti) And Francis (François Damiens). Lea is committed in a department store, Marc it is framework in a company specializing in aluminum. Karine is an advertising agent, Francis real estate agent. They are friends, we see each other often, dinners and laughter at will. At a certain point Leathe most insecure and discreet, during a dinner communicates to everyone that she has wrote a novel. So far no jolt. Everything changes when this novel begins to sell over 250 thousand copies. A success! The book becomes a best seller, Lea begins to make presentations of the volume, interviews on TV, in short, she becomes popular and famous.
Vincent Cassel between Bérénice Bejo (right) and Florence Foresti at the presentation of “The happiness of others”. (Ipa)
Friends Karine And Francisperplexed and incredulous, they too begin to desperately search for a path to success. Karine, defiantly, try to write a novel (“If Lea did it, why can’t I do it?”). She does badly, so she throws herself into sports, the marathon. But she doesn’t excels here either. Francis he first devotes himself to sculpture, then tries cooking, but it is sadly comical.
And also MarcLea’s husband, after all, he cannot rejoice in his wife’s successes. Find any excuse to avoid reading the drafts of his new book. Instead of encouraging it, it holds it back or otherwise obstructs it. He feels “inferior” (“I can’t be maintained by you”). In this dimension in which the old roles are all overturned, new balances are created and the life of the protagonists changes.
Vincent Cassel “wild” with Tina
As we said, the role of Vincent Cassel who plays a little man no wife would want next to him. Nothing to do with the beautiful and bold roles in which we are used to seeing him (for example ne The black Swan of 2010 or more recently in Underwater of 2020).
Today Vincent Cassel, always very popular in the cinema, seems to be talked about above all for his sentimental, happy and carefree life. On social media, he never fails to be seen surfing or walking on a beach embracing his own Tina Kunakey. Him, her, the ocean and lots of love. He had a daughter with the model with an exotic charm Amazonie. But for many Cassel remains Monica Bellucci’s ex-husband with which he had Deva and Leonie.
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