Les Choses de la Vie

Claude Sautet’s film begins with the aftermath of a violent car crash along a rural motorway. As the man, Pierre (Piccoli), lies in a semi-conscious stupor, his life flashes before his eyes— specifically, his complex entanglement with two very different women: his dutiful, long-suffering wife (Massari) and his adoring, free-spirited mistress (Schneider). One scene follows another in fragmented, free-associative fashion, ingeniously filmed by Sautet with an army of slo-mo cameras in a manner that recalls the climax of Bonnie and Clyde.

See also 3 Days in Quiberon