I've only seen Life is Sweet twicefirst when it came out fifteen years ago and again just last night. The last fifteen years certainly haven't dimmed my memory about what a wonderful movie this is.
It's funny that the only two people in this critics' forum who don't like the movie are American. I'm not American-bashing, but many American films have the big names, pretty faces and lots of explosions. You generally won't find these in a Mike Leigh movie. Instead you'll find wonderful stories, great characters and perfect acting (I could watch Jim Broadbent make toast and reading the morning newspaper).
For some reason this movie really resonated with me over the years and I remembered so many little details that spoke volumes. The Decalogue, for example. Mike Leigh's movies are brilliant in terms of Decalogue (Jim Broadbent's "That is an evil spoon" has to be one of the greatest lines in cinema history).
Life is Sweet isn't a happy movie, but it is a joy to watch.
It's funny that the only two people in this critics' forum who don't like the movie are American. I'm not American-bashing, but many American films have the big names, pretty faces and lots of explosions. You generally won't find these in a Mike Leigh movie. Instead you'll find wonderful stories, great characters and perfect acting (I could watch Jim Broadbent make toast and reading the morning newspaper).
For some reason this movie really resonated with me over the years and I remembered so many little details that spoke volumes. The Decalogue, for example. Mike Leigh's movies are brilliant in terms of Decalogue (Jim Broadbent's "That is an evil spoon" has to be one of the greatest lines in cinema history).
Life is Sweet isn't a happy movie, but it is a joy to watch.