La Vie de Bohème (film)
Encyclopedia
La Vie de Bohème is a 1992 film directed by Aki Kaurismäki
and starring Matti Pellonpää
, Evelyne Didi and André Wilms
. Kaurismäki's screenplay for the film was based on Henri Murger
's influential novel Scènes de la Vie de Bohème
which has spawned several on-screen adaptations as well as plays and operas, the most notable one being Giacomo Puccini
's La bohème
.
The film was a critical success earning several awards. FIPRESCI
awarded the film the Forum of New Cinema award at the 1992 Berlin International Film Festival
. At the 1992 European Film Awards, Matti Pellonpää
and André Wilms
were awarded the Best European Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively while Evelyne Didi was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress and the film was nominated for the Best Film Award. Kaurismäki won the Best Director award at the 1993 Jussi Awards.
) is an impoverished Paris
ian poet and playwright who is evicted from his extremely modest room after he is unable to pay rent for it. While roaming the streets of Paris, he meets Rodolfo (Matti Pellonpää
), a painter from Albania
who is almost equally poor and is in the country illegally. They quickly discover they are kindred spirits since they both share the same love for art without much regard for their worldly well-being. The two eventually make another friend in Schaunard (Kari Väänänen
), an Irish
composer who is now renting Marcel's former room. The three friends help each other in the daily struggle to survive by sharing whatever little money they have among each other in order to maintain a certain, although basic and simple, standard of living.
Rodolfo's life in interrupted when he meets Mimi (Evelyne Didi), a poor French girl with whom he falls madly in love. But Rodolfo is soon deported back to Albania due to not having a visa
. He is unable to return to Paris for six months and, by then, Mimi has moved on and found another boyfriend. Rodolfo, Marcel and Schaunard scrape together what food they have and have a meal together to celebrate the feast of All Saints
. Mimi shows up and informs Rodolfo that she has left her boyfriend to be with him again. However, Mimi is ill and she dies the next spring.
Aki Kaurismäki
-Career:After studying Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment , Dostoyevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki...
and starring Matti Pellonpää
Matti Pellonpää
Matti Pellonpää was an award-winning Finnish actor and a musician. He rose to international fame with his roles in both Aki Kaurismäki's and Mika Kaurismäki's films; particularly being a regular in Aki's films, appearing in 18 of them.He started his career in 1962 as a radio actor at the Finnish...
, Evelyne Didi and André Wilms
André Wilms
André Wilms is a French film and television actor who has also appeared in German and Finnish films. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work in Aki Kaurismäki's La Vie de Bohème.-Partial filmography:* Le tartuffe * Field of...
. Kaurismäki's screenplay for the film was based on Henri Murger
Henri Murger
Louis-Henri Murger, also known as Henri Murger and Henry Murger was a French novelist and poet....
's influential novel Scènes de la Vie de Bohème
La Vie de Bohème
La Vie de Bohème is a work by Henry Murger, published in 1851. Although it is commonly called a novel, it doesn't follow a standard novel form. Rather, it is a collection of loosely related stories, all set in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s, romanticizing bohemian life in a playful way...
which has spawned several on-screen adaptations as well as plays and operas, the most notable one being Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
.
The film was a critical success earning several awards. FIPRESCI
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
awarded the film the Forum of New Cinema award at the 1992 Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
. At the 1992 European Film Awards, Matti Pellonpää
Matti Pellonpää
Matti Pellonpää was an award-winning Finnish actor and a musician. He rose to international fame with his roles in both Aki Kaurismäki's and Mika Kaurismäki's films; particularly being a regular in Aki's films, appearing in 18 of them.He started his career in 1962 as a radio actor at the Finnish...
and André Wilms
André Wilms
André Wilms is a French film and television actor who has also appeared in German and Finnish films. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work in Aki Kaurismäki's La Vie de Bohème.-Partial filmography:* Le tartuffe * Field of...
were awarded the Best European Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively while Evelyne Didi was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress and the film was nominated for the Best Film Award. Kaurismäki won the Best Director award at the 1993 Jussi Awards.
Plot
Marcel (André WilmsAndré Wilms
André Wilms is a French film and television actor who has also appeared in German and Finnish films. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work in Aki Kaurismäki's La Vie de Bohème.-Partial filmography:* Le tartuffe * Field of...
) is an impoverished Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian poet and playwright who is evicted from his extremely modest room after he is unable to pay rent for it. While roaming the streets of Paris, he meets Rodolfo (Matti Pellonpää
Matti Pellonpää
Matti Pellonpää was an award-winning Finnish actor and a musician. He rose to international fame with his roles in both Aki Kaurismäki's and Mika Kaurismäki's films; particularly being a regular in Aki's films, appearing in 18 of them.He started his career in 1962 as a radio actor at the Finnish...
), a painter from Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
who is almost equally poor and is in the country illegally. They quickly discover they are kindred spirits since they both share the same love for art without much regard for their worldly well-being. The two eventually make another friend in Schaunard (Kari Väänänen
Kari Väänänen
Kari Väänänen is a Finnish actor. Domestically he is a member of the Ryhmäteatteri group of actors. He was introduced to international audiences by Aki Kaurismäki; and belongs to the list of his"trusted" stable of actors....
), an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
composer who is now renting Marcel's former room. The three friends help each other in the daily struggle to survive by sharing whatever little money they have among each other in order to maintain a certain, although basic and simple, standard of living.
Rodolfo's life in interrupted when he meets Mimi (Evelyne Didi), a poor French girl with whom he falls madly in love. But Rodolfo is soon deported back to Albania due to not having a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
. He is unable to return to Paris for six months and, by then, Mimi has moved on and found another boyfriend. Rodolfo, Marcel and Schaunard scrape together what food they have and have a meal together to celebrate the feast of All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
. Mimi shows up and informs Rodolfo that she has left her boyfriend to be with him again. However, Mimi is ill and she dies the next spring.
Cast and characters
- Matti PellonpääMatti PellonpääMatti Pellonpää was an award-winning Finnish actor and a musician. He rose to international fame with his roles in both Aki Kaurismäki's and Mika Kaurismäki's films; particularly being a regular in Aki's films, appearing in 18 of them.He started his career in 1962 as a radio actor at the Finnish...
- Rodolfo - Evelyne Didi - Mimi
- André WilmsAndré WilmsAndré Wilms is a French film and television actor who has also appeared in German and Finnish films. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work in Aki Kaurismäki's La Vie de Bohème.-Partial filmography:* Le tartuffe * Field of...
- Marcel - Kari VäänänenKari VäänänenKari Väänänen is a Finnish actor. Domestically he is a member of the Ryhmäteatteri group of actors. He was introduced to international audiences by Aki Kaurismäki; and belongs to the list of his"trusted" stable of actors....
- Schaunard - Christine Murillo - Musette
- Jean-Pierre LéaudJean-Pierre Léaud-Early years:Born in Paris, Léaud made his major debut as an actor at the age of 14 as Antoine Doinel, a semi-autobiographical character based on the life events of French film director François Truffaut, in The 400 Blows....
- Blancheron - Carlos SalgadoCarlos SalgadoCarlos Salgado was a Honduran radio journalist and comedian. Salgado hosted a satirical radio show called Bean the Terrible and focused on social commentary and the satirising of well-known public figures in Honduras...
- café waiter