Movieo
Poster for Life Is a Bed of Roses

Life Is a Bed of Roses

1983 · 1h 50m · PG Comedy, Drama
Directed by Alain Resnais

Seen it?

Overview

In this whimsical fable, Resnais deftly interweaves three story lines: the creation of an early-20th-century utopia; romantic high jinks at a school conference; and a fantasy sparked by F/X pioneer Georges Méliès.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
75%
Tomatometer
Rotten

It's more memorable for various isolated witticisms and images than it is as a coherent whole. And its flightier touches can be deadly.

Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rotten

The material manages at once to be both precious and dry, the staging is unprofitably claustrophobic, and the structure less ingenious than arbitrary.

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Fresh

Resnais speculates on the utopian dream that life is infinitely perfectable, that human chaos, despair and horror can be spirited or educated out of existence. There are two stories, to correspond to each of these possibilities.

Time Out

Comments

Talk about the film with other members

More films