A BETTER LIFE

UNE VIE MEILLEURE

CEDRIC KAHN & DENISE ROBERT will be present Friday November 4th (7:15PM).

Ambitious young chef and ladies' man Yann, (Guillaume Canet, hottest star-of-the moment in France), tries unsuccessfully to break into Paris's cutthroat restaurant scene, despite his self-confidence and his seductive personality. He does however succeed in attracting the beautiful Nadia (Leïla Bekhti, ALL THAT GLITTERS, at CINEMANIA 2010), and they fall madly in love. Yann is actually ready to form a family with Nadia and her son Slimane, but his brief newly-found stability lures him into indebtedness during costly renovations of his own dream restaurant just outside Paris. The debts spiral and the couple's relationship begins to sour. Nadia decides to take a job in Montreal, promising to send for Yann and her son when she settles-in. Meanwhile, Yann tries to be a proper father to Slimane with almost Doystoyevskian effect after the young boy shoplifts a pair of running shoes. Yann at last begins to confront the devastating impact of his drive and stubbornness - is there truly hope for 'a better life' when he eventually joins Nadia in Montreal?

Renowned Cedric Kahn directs with his usual authority, inspiring an incredibly nuanced performance from the multi-talented Guillaume Canet in what is an absorbingly modern tale of transatlantic love and ambition gone awry. Award-winning producer Denise Robert of THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS fame, brought this France-Quebec co-production to the screen.

2011 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTION