À la vie

Helen, Lili and Rose, each pushing forty, get together in a 1960 beach-side French vacation town for a reunion with no men in tow, after not seeing each other for fifteen years. The twist is that these three Jewish women survived the Nazi Holocaust, and have since built their own complex lives, mixed with happiness and regrets. In this sunny, fun-loving locale, they now flirt with men, support and argue with each other, and contrast their roles as modern day women in a changing world with the memory of a war they sometimes prefer to forget. The film beautifully melds the summer romance genre with a story of female friendship and resilience. Based on the true story of the director's own mother, these women -- their marriages, affairs and challenges to define themselves -- form the heart of A LA VIE (TO LIFE).