Such a summary of the plot does not do justice to a film about “the things of life”: a few days in the life of an ordinary couple, which will be transformed forever by the death of one of the main characters. That’s why the story is told as a sequence of flashbacks with a recurring theme – the accident. The film marks the emergence of Claude Sautet as a significant French author and director. With the adaptation of the touching novel of Paul Guimard, Sautet, who before that did only exercises in style, however remarkable they were, introduces the themes and characters, which will inhabit the world of his later films. He imposes an incomparable, dynamic, musical and excellent way of directing. He also establishes himself as an exceptional master, who in his work with the actors manages to find a human authenticity, which no other director has discovered. According to Romy Schneider, after The Things of Life all spectators will be watching “the things of life” through the eyes of Claude Sautet. Michel Sineux