cheese_cake
the movie is about three scoundrelly, starving, yet genuine artists. i loved the acting, rudolfo in particular is perfect to the T, and story of the 3 artists, since i felt i could identify with them, being a poor, un-understood writer/artist myself (yeah i know one among many thousands, but that does not detract). the movie is not too ham handed about this aspect and keeps the first part of the film very lively, with loves and adventures galore. the second part is slightly more serious what with an unexpected ending. the movie did not have the tight ending and core cohesiveness that is required of masterpieces. part of it may be that it is adapted from a book written in 1888, henri munger's - Scenes de la Boheme. by the way the director is flemish!!! highly amusing, the men seem hip to the scene and even when forlorn are in a trendy down-trodden people's bar (without the street thugs/drunks), cigarette's dangling perpetually from their mouths. the black and white cinematography and overall style of visual composition is spot on. the scene where the musician plays his "original" composition is a hoot. i HIGHLY recommend it.
sir_mercutio_99
La Vie de Boheme is an modern Neo-realistic version of the classic french novella "Scenes la vie de Boheme" a mostly forgotten story from the romantic era. Some people will know the story from the very famous opera "La Boheme" by Puccini. The main difference of this from the opera is that it takes a more direct & modern approach to this. The Bohemians are more working class artists than what we would think of as (lazy)starving artists. In the opera Musetta is more of a gold-digging tramp in contrast Musetta in this movie leaves Marcel(lo) to move in with a more stable man as does Mimi. The only real problem I have with the movie is the absence of the philosopher Colline which is a loss.(He pawns his coat to buy medicine for Mimi.) Other than that I would recommend this film for fans of French neo-realism.
rljsax
I wondered why I was actually laughing at a French film until I realized it was made by Finns. Reminded me a lot of Buster Keaton, except that the pratfalls are mostly cerebral. Deadpan comedy with style. The black dog was the Finnish Rin-Tin-Tin. I hope he got a nice bone for his efforts.
KFL
A French playwright, an Albanian painter, and an Irish composer, all living hand-to-mouth in Paris, devise various schemes to secure their next meal, or cheat the landlord, or help each other out of jams. Cynically witty and poignant by turns, La Vie de Boheme somehow manages to simultaneously embellish and skewer the old cliche about starving artists on the Left Bank.
This might almost be the film to show your son or daughter when they have declared that they want to become a novelist or painter and move to an exotic locale--except that, who knows, it might have the opposite of the intended effect.I liked it quite a bit. Watch for the performance by the Irishman of his own piano piece for his friends, toward the end: hilarious!
AD
