My Golden Days

My Golden Days (French: Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse, lit. 'Three Memories of my Youth'), also titled My Golden Years, is a 2015 French drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It stars Quentin Dolmaire, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, and Mathieu Amalric. It is a prequel to the 1996 film My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument.^[3] It was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival,^[4] where it won the SACD Prize.^[5][6]

My Golden Days
Theatrical release poster
French	Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse
Directed by	Arnaud Desplechin
Written by	Arnaud Desplechin Julie Peyr
Produced by	Oury Milshtein Tatiana Bouchain
Starring	Quentin Dolmaire Lou Roy-Lecollinet Mathieu Amalric
Cinematography	Irina Lubtchansky
Edited by	Laurence Briaud
Music by	Grégoire Hetzel
Production companies	Why Not Productions France 2 Cinéma
Distributed by	Le Pacte
Release dates	15 May 2015 (2015-05-15) (Cannes) 20 May 2015 (2015-05-20) (France)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Budget	$4.2 million[1]
Box office	$1.5 million[2]

Plot

Due to a passport problem, an anthropologist Paul is stopped and interrogated at the airport in Paris. He recalls the memories of his youth.

Told in three segments: (1: “Childhood”) Paul argues with his mother and goes and stays with an aunt. His mother dies and his angry father attacks him. (2: “Russia”) Paul is questioned about a passport irregularity. He explains that he went on a school trip to Russia. His Jewish friend agreed to act as a courier, handing over money and books. Paul gave up his passport (3: “Esther”) Paul falls in love with his sister’s friend Esther, beautiful, promiscuous, and unhappy. They meet at parties and begin a long-term relationship, though each has other lovers. Paul studies in Paris but returns home when he can. His tutor dies and he works on a research project in Tajikistan. (“Epilogue”) Paul bumps into Jean-Paul and his wife. Paul says Jean-Paul betrayed him while he was away.

Cast

• Quentin Dolmaire as Paul Dédalus
• Lou Roy-Lecollinet as Esther
• Mathieu Amalric as Paul (adult)
• Dinara Droukarova as Irina
• Pierre-Benoist Varoclier as Yorick
• Françoise Lebrun as Rose
• Irina Vavilova as Mme Sidorov
• Olivier Rabourdin as Abel Dédalus
• Anne Benoît as Louise
• Elyot Milshtein as Marc Zylberberg
• Pierre Andrau as Kovalki
• Lily Taieb as Delphine Dédalus
• Raphaël Cohen as Ivan Dédalus
• Clémence Le Gall as Pénélope
• Théo Fernandez as Bob
• Yassine Douighi as Medhi
• Ève Doé-Bruce as Professor Béhanzin
• Mélodie Richard as Gilberte
• Pierre-Benoist Varoclier as Yorick
• Éric Ruf as Kovalki (adult)
• Patrick d'Assumçao as The monk

Release

The film had is world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2015.^[7] It was released in France on 20 May 2015.^[8]

Reception

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "My Golden Years is a complex, well-acted coming-of-age drama."^[9] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[10]

Accolades

Award	Year of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Cabourg Film Festival	2015	Best Director	Arnaud Desplechin	Won	[11]
Cannes Film Festival	2015	SACD Prize	My Golden Days	Won	[5]
César Award	2016	Best Film	My Golden Days	Nominated	[12]
		Best Director	Arnaud Desplechin	Won
		Most Promising Actor	Quentin Dolmaire	Nominated
		Most Promising Actress	Lou Roy-Lecollinet	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Arnaud Desplechin and Julie Peyr	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Irina Lubtchansky	Nominated
		Best Editing	Laurence Briaud	Nominated
		Best Original Music	Grégoire Hetzel	Nominated
		Best Sound	Nicolas Cantin, Sylvain Malbrant, and Stéphane Thiébaut	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Nathalie Raoul	Nominated
		Best Production Design	Toma Baquéni	Nominated
Chicago International Film Festival	2015	Best Art Direction	Toma Baqueni	Won	[13]
Louis Delluc Prize	2015	Best Film	My Golden Days	Nominated	[14]
Lumières Award	2016	Best Film	My Golden Days	Nominated	[15]
		Best Director	Arnaud Desplechin	Won
		Best Male Revelation	Quentin Dolmaire	Nominated
		Best Female Revelation	Lou Roy-Lecollinet	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Arnaud Desplechin and Julie Peyr	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Irina Lubtchansky	Nominated
		Best Music	Grégoire Hetzel	Won
Prix Jacques Prévert du Scénario	2016	Best Original Screenplay	Arnaud Desplechin and Julie Peyr	Won	[16]