''Madly in Life'' (french: Une vie démente) is a 2020 Belgian

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by

Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni are filmmakers based in Brussels, Belgium. They have worked as a writing and directing team for their entire professional film careers. Career Ann Sirot (born in Brussels, Belgium) and Raphaël Balboni (born in Au ...

in their feature directorial debut. The film stars Jo Deseure,

Jean Le Peltier Jean Le Peltier is a Belgian-French film and stage director, writer and actor. After developing an interest in acting, Le Peltier studied performing arts at the Rennes 2 University in France and graduated from there in 2008. He began working in t ...

Lucie Debay Lucie Debay is a Belgian-French actress who has appeared in film, television and theatre. Career After developing an interest in acting, Debay enrolled at the INSAS Film School in Brussels and graduated from there in 2009. She later began wor ...

and

Gilles Remiche Gilles Remiche (1979 – 17 April 2022) was a Belgian director and actor. He studied at the University of East London and began working as an assistant director in 2006. He made his acting debut in 2017 with a minor role in '' The Benefit of the ...

, and follows an aging woman dealing with her progressing

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

with the help of her son. It was the last film in which Remiche starred before his death in 2022. The film had its world premiere as the opening film at the

Namur Film Festival The ''Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur'' (FIFF) is a festival dedicated to French speaking films in Namur, Belgium created in 1986, reflecting francophone diversity, from Europe, Canada and Africa. History The festival is cre ...

on 2 October 2020. It was theatrically released in Belgium on 4 November 2020, before streaming in other territories starting on 14 January 2022. Upon release, ''Madly in Life'' was acclaimed by critics, who lauded the cast performances and the production values as well as the sensitive portrayal of its subject matter. At the

11th Magritte Awards The 11th Magritte Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie André Delvaux, honored the best films of 2020 and 2021 in Belgium. It took place on 12 February 2022, at the Square, in the historic site of Mont des Arts, Brussels. It was the first c ...

, ''Madly in Life'' received a record-tying twelve nominations and won seven awards, including

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

for Sirot and Balboni.

Cast

* Jo Deseure as Suzanne Merteens *

as Alex *

as Noémie *

as Kevin

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madly in Life 2020 films 2020 comedy-drama films 2020 directorial debut films 2020s French-language films Belgian comedy-drama films Films about dementia Magritte Award winners Films about mother–son relationships