''My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument'' (french: Comment je me suis disputé... (ma vie sexuelle)) is a 1996 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Arnaud Desplechin Arnaud Desplechin (; born 31 October 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the César Award for Best Director for ''My Golden Days'' (2015). Life and career Desplechin was born in Roubaix. He is the son of Robert and ...

. It competed for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. It won the

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...

for Most Promising Actor (

Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich (2005 film), ...

) and was also nominated for Most Promising Actress (

Emmanuelle Devos Emmanuelle Devos (born 10 May 1964) is a French actress. She is the daughter of actress Marie Henriau. She won the César Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her performance in ''Sur mes lèvres'', directed by Jacques Audiard. She has also bee ...

and

Jeanne Balibar Jeanne Balibar (born 13 April 1968) is a French actress and singer. Life and career Balibar was born in Paris, the daughter of Marxist philosopher Étienne Balibar and physicist Françoise Balibar. She started her career as a student in th ...

). The film ensured Desplechin's and Amalric's career launches in the 90s as respected director and actor respectively (although they had both initially worked towards the reverse). Historically it also marks one of

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...

's very first roles in the industry. ''My Sex Life...'' follows the story of a PhD student and lecturer in philosophy, Paul Dédalus, as he struggles to break up with his longtime girlfriend, has conflicted feelings about his two mistresses - who are also his friends' partners -, and has a difficult time facing a new colleague, appointed head of the "epistemology department", a former friend who dislikes him for reasons Paul cannot remember. The Catholic conversion and religious concerns of Paul's younger brother, Ivan, are a subplot in the movie. Being nearly three hours long, the movie's representation of a daily life in Paris follows a similar pattern to

Jean Eustache Jean Eustache (; 30 November 1938 – 5 November 1981) was a French filmmaker. During his short career, he completed numerous short films, in addition to a pair of highly regarded features, of which the first, ''The Mother and the Whore'', is c ...

's ''

The Mother and the Whore ''The Mother and the Whore'' (french: La maman et la putain) is a 1973 French film directed by Jean Eustache and starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, Bernadette Lafont and Françoise Lebrun. An examination of the relationships between three characters ...

'' from 1973, a cult post-

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

film lasting three hours and forty minutes. Similar dialogues and epigrammatic lines or quotations on life, love and friendship are found in both works.

Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",

's interest for "realistic" circumstances has been cited by Desplechin as a major influence on his work in general. Other versions of the Paul Dédalus character appear in ''

A Christmas Tale ''A Christmas Tale'' (french: link=no, Un conte de Noël) is a 2008 French comedy-drama film by Arnaud Desplechin, starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos and Chiara Ma ...

'' (2008) and ''

My Golden Days ''My Golden Days'' (french: Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse), 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 ...

'' (2015), the last one being a much more explicit prequel. These later productions both feature Amalric.

Cast

as Paul Dedalus *

as Esther *

Marianne Denicourt Marianne Denicourt (née Cuau; born 14 May 1963) is a French actress, director and screenwriter who has appeared in more than 50 films and television productions since 1986. She studied under Patrice Chéreau in 1985-86 at the Ecole du Thé� ...

as Sylvia * Emmanuel Salinger as Nathan *

Thibault de Montalembert Thibault Charles Marie Septime de Montalembert (born 10 February 1962) is a French theatre, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the television series '' The Tunnel'' (2013–2018) and '' Call My Agent!'' (2015� ...

as Bob *

Chiara Mastroianni Chiara Charlotte Mastroianni (born 28 May 1972) is a French actress and singer. She is the daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. Early life Mastroianni was born to French actress Catherine Deneuve and Italian actor Marcello Ma ...

as Patricia *

Denis Podalydès Denis Podalydès (born 22 April 1963) is a French actor and scriptwriter of Greek descent. Podalydès has appeared in more than 140 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in '' The Officers' Ward'', which was entered into the 2001 Can ...

as Jean-Jacques *

as Valérie * Fabrice Desplechin as Ivan *

Hélène Lapiower Helene or Hélène may refer to: People *Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name * Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda *Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis * Helene (A ...

as Le Mérou *

Michel Vuillermoz Michel Vuillermoz (born 18 December 1962) is a French actor and scriptwriter. Vuillermoz has appeared in more than 100 films and 40 plays. In 1998, he received two Molière Award: Best Male Newcomer and Best Play for ''André le Magnifique''. ...

as Frédéric Rabier *

Roland Amstutz Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

as Chernov *

as Student

References

External links

* * 1996 films 1996 drama films French drama films 1990s French-language films Films directed by Arnaud Desplechin Films with screenplays by Arnaud Desplechin Films set in Paris 1990s French films {{1990s-France-film-stub