Thank You, Life

Merci la vie (Thank You, Life, 1991) is a French drama by director Bertrand Blier you can watch online on iFILM. Camille, a naive schoolgirl, finds Joelle at the roadside — bruised, abandoned in a torn wedding dress. She takes her in. What follows is part road movie, part fever dream that refuses to explain itself.

Blier pushes the two women (Charlotte Gainsbourg and Anouk Grinberg) through a landscape of cruelty and desire without apology. Then the AIDS epidemic crashes into the story: Camille begins to fear she may have been infected during her earliest encounters. Gérard Depardieu, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Annie Girardot turn up in supporting roles that stay with you.

Not comfortable viewing — Blier never is. Gainsbourg at 19 carries the whole unruly thing on her shoulders, and that alone makes it worth your time. Stream Merci la vie (1991) on iFILM.