Writer/Director Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Days (Trois Souvenirs
de Ma Jeunesse) is an interesting and effective film by a very interesting and effective filmmaker.
Diplomat Paul Dédalus (Mathieu Amalric) is stopped by
authorities as he tries to enter France after several years in Tajikistan and other
remote posts because his identity is a match of someone else, a man who has
been dead for a few years. As he deals
with his doppelganger, he reflects on 3 significant memories of his youth.
Desplechin’s story is replete with allusions and
references that will elude most any viewer except the Writer/Director himself. Attention to these has made him and his
Editor Laurence Briaud miss some pieces of the present day story such as how
his having given away his identity to someone else was resolved, but these are
forgiven for the gift he has given the viewer.
The gift comes in the most significant memory...that of his first love. The story of Young Dédalus (Quentin
Dolmaire) and his girlfriend Esther (Lou Roy-Decollinet) is the most engaging segment of the
film. The actors are absolutely splendid,
especially given that this is the first film for both of them.
I give My Golden Days a 4.1 out of 5.
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