La Belle Époque poses the interesting question of which moment of your life you'd want to relive (if any). Victor Drumond (Daniel Auteuil),an aging cartoonist with a failing marriage with his wife Marianne (the elegant Fanny Ardant),definitely has one.. one where he first met the love of his life (Marianne, of course!). When Victor gets chucked out of their apartment one night by Marianne, he decides to make use of the voucher offered by his son to "return to his glorious '70s". This is made possible by Antoine (a childhood friend of his son's),who along with a bunch of sophisticated actors and authentic aesthetics (akin to elaborately done film sets),offers a service to let people relive their happiest moment(s).

Antoine (Canet) is going through a relationship struggle with Margot (a tough-to-take-eyes-off Doria Tillier),one of his actresses. When Margot is cast to play the role of Marianne in Victor's moment re-enactment (set in a cafe in Lyon, 1974),things slowly spiral out of control. Victor can't help but fall in love with this beautiful, trailblazing lady (who improvises her lines and situations) for real. In her, he sees traits of his wife, but with unique texturing of her own. As days progress, Victor finds that he's able to draw (i.e. create art) again.

Nicolas Bedos strongly projects how art is one of the few things that can stand the test of time - sometimes, even love tends to take a backseat. He also leaves a heartwarming message (for everyone who's been in love at some point) in the form of the climax scene. It's a nostalgia-filled ride too, into an imagined version of the 70s. Victor casually comments on the times when people used to smoke like they owned chimney lungs and notice other people passing by instead of staring into phone screens (like we do now!).

Plenty of sharp, cleverly written humor is also present for discerning viewers. Bedos can feel proud of the fact that he didn't overly sentimentalize the proceedings or overuse his unique rom-com concept. The writing here for each of the lead characters is solid and very Kaufman-esque in its world-building. I, for one, would love to visit Utopia as many times as possible. Also, I feel uber tempted to check out Doria Tillier's other works ASAP!

I know there are only four reviews on imdb for this entry but I thought that at least one of them would have mentioned Luigi Pirandello or Star Trek both of which arguably influenced the writer-director. Pirandello of course made a career out of posing the question what is real and what is illusion. In one of his finest plays, Henry IV (not the English king but the French one) the audience spends the bulk of the first act thinking it is actually at the court of Henry IV onlt to be disabused and realise we are, in fact, in the 20th century where a wealthy man, convinced he actually is the king has spent a fortune recreating the real court. In Star Trek the senior officers can press a button and ask a computer to recreate a given era/setting and then enter a chamber where the past has been recreated down to the smallest detail. Here, Guillaume Canet has a lucrative business recreating the past physically in a studio for those able to pay. Enter Daniel Auteuil, still in love with his wife, Fanny Ardant, who has a new lover and barely tolerates Auteuil. Once aware of Canets' business Auteuil opts to return to 1974, the year he met his great love, who, at that time, returned it. Basically we're talking wish-fulfilment dream but witty and charming with it. This is a movie that just misses being brilliant and will reward mult-viewings.

Aging Victor is down on his luck: he's unemployed and he has been kicked out of his own home as his wife has left him for his former boss, the man who fired him. Then he is offered a chance to recreate a moment in time and he chooses the moment in 1974 when he and his wife first met.

An interesting, entertaining and emotional film. Great in its application of nostalgia and our desires to relive our fondest moments. The central plot is quite basic and ends fairly predictably, though emotionally. However, some of the sub-plots are quite interesting, especially the Antoine-Margot-Victor relationship. There's also some very funny moments: the assistant director gets some great scenes and one-liners.

Not always engaging though. The plot does seem unfocused at times and some scenes and sub-plots go nowhere.

Can't fault the casting: the big names, Daniel Auteuil and Fanny Ardant, are great and nobody puts a foot wrong. Doria Tillier, as Margot, steals the show though.