''My Life Is Hell'' (french: Ma vie est un enfer) is a 1991 French comedy film directed by

Josiane Balasko Josiane Balasko (born Josiane Balašković; 15 April 1950) is a French actress, writer, and director. She has been nominated seven times for César Awards, and won twice. Career One of Balasko's most recognized roles among English speakers is ...

Plot

Leah Lemonnier (

), 35, leads a dreary and depressing life between her work as the secretary of a dentist who spends his time reprimanding her, her analyst ( Richard Berry) who sees in her only a source of income, her neighbor, Mr. Chpil, a sexually obsessed party animal (

Jean Benguigui Jean Benguigui (born 8 April 1944 in Oran) is a French actor. He is of Jewish-Algerian descent. In 2006 and 2007 he played the role of impresario Cartoni in a new adaptation of the operetta Le Chanteur de Mexico at the Théâtre du Châtelet ...

) and her mother (

Catherine Samie Catherine Samie (born 3 February 1933) is a French actress and member (sociétaire, doyen) of the Comédie-Française from 1962. On 14 July 2011 she became Grand Officier of the Legion of Honor. She is a Catholic.Marnie Winston-Macauley, ''Yiddi ...

), nymphomaniac, selfish, greedy, narcissistic and contemptuous. But one day, she unwittingly invokes the devil. He has the face of a handsome devil, Abar (

Daniel Auteuil Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...

), who offers her a deal: He will be at her service until her death in exchange of her soul. Leah signs the pact and turns into a dream creature to seduce her shrink. The pact is soon canceled by the intervention of the archangel Gabriel, who is moved by the naivety of the young woman. He tells Abar that he got the wrong prey, who was supposed to be Leah's mother. Gabriel cancels the agreement and takes all power away from Abar. But Leah begins to find Abargadon attractive and decides to save his soul. She pleads in his favor and the archangel accepts provided that Abar does not commit any sin for a period of several weeks. Leah and Abar live in a seedy hotel. During a fire at the hotel, Abargadon saves a child but Leah is on the verge of death, poisoned by smoke. Abargadon decides to save her by giving her a blood transfusion. By this gesture, the archangel Gabriel decides to save his soul and makes him human. A few months later, Leah, who has become demon, is at the head of a pharmaceutical company. She comes upon Abar robbing the business in order to steal patents. She offers a contract to Abar, now mortal, against his soul. Taking advantage of prior knowledge, he negotiates a favorable contract: a long life of carnal love between him and his love.

Cast

- Leah Lemonnier *

- Abargadon * Richard Berry - Xavier Langsam *

Michael Lonsdale Michael Edward Lonsdale-Crouch (24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020), commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes named as Michel Lonsdale, was a French actor and author who appeared in over 180 films and television shows. He is best know ...

- Gabriel *

- Flo Lemonnier *

- Mr. Chpil *

Luis Rego Luis Rego (born 30 May 1943) is a French actor, comedian, writer and director, of Portuguese origins. He was a founding member of music/comedy group Les Charlots Les Charlots, known as The Crazy Boys in the English-speaking world, was a group ...

- Pazou *

Catherine Hiegel Catherine Hiegel (born 10 December 1946) is a French actress, comedian and director. Personal life Catherine Hiegel is the daughter of Pierre Hiegel, radio host, music critic, radio producer and artistic director of French houses of discs. Sh ...

- Lilith *

Ticky Holgado Ticky Holgado (24 June 1944, in Toulouse – 22 January 2004, in Paris), pseudonym of Joseph Holgado, was a French actor and a frequent collaborator with Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With ''Delicatessen'' (1991) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, Ticky ...

- El Diablo *

Bertrand Blier Bertrand Blier (; born 14 March 1939) is a French film director and writer. His 1978 film ''Get Out Your Handkerchiefs'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards. He is the son of famous French actor Bernard ...

- The priest *

Marilou Berry Marilou Berry (born 1 February 1983) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Personal life Marilou Berry was born on 1 February 1983, the daughter of filmmaker Josiane Balasko (née Balašković) and sculptor Philippe Berry (né ...

- The little girl *

Alexandre Desplat Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (; born 23 August 1961) is a French film composer and conductor. He has won many awards, including two Academy Awards, for his musical scores to the films ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' and ''The Shape of Water'', ...

- The pianist *

Pierre Gérald Pierre Gérald (26 May 1906 – 24 March 2012) was a French actor who acted professionally in theater, movies and television series for over 50 years. Early life Born in Paris on 26 May 1906 into a family of diamond dealers, Gérald entered ...

- Dimitri *

Joël Houssin Joël Houssin (born 1953) is a French author of science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction. Two of his novels have won the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire. He also wrote the film ''Dobermann'', based on his series of police novels, and created the cri ...

- Gorilla archangel Gabriel *

Bruno Moynot Bruno Moynot (born 20 December 1950, in Bois-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, France ) is a French actor and theatre director. Part of the famous French comedy group Le Splendid, he is best known for his roles in Patrice Leconte's ''Les Bronzés'' ...

- The realtor

Parodies

This film mocks: * Insurance companies and their clauses written in small print; *

Psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

: The analyst writes his shopping list whilst his client tells him about her life; when she asks him to consider her financial situation, he explains that the amount of money is part of

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

; when his client takes revenge on him, Richard Berry sends up

Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...

’s terminology.

Release

The film sold 1,170,523 tickets at the box office in France. In 1993, it was presented at the

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented biennially in March from 2003, since 2013 AFF has been held in October ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

References

External links

* 1991 comedy films 1991 films French comedy films Films about size change Films directed by Josiane Balasko 2000s French films 1990s French films {{2000s-France-film-stub