Screening times:
Sunday, December 7, 6:00 PM
Thursday, December 11, 6:30 PM
Laurent Slama | France | 2025 | 77m
English and French with English subtitles
Paris pulsates with excitement on the opening day of the Olympic Games. Elisabeth works for a short-term rental broker, and the sheer number of arrivals makes this a critical day for her. She’s exhausted to the point of despair, not just from the unreasonable pressures she faces from her employer but also in the wake of a break up. When one of her clients, a free-spirited American named Elijah, challenges her with his warmth and a personality that draws people to him, she’s forced to look at her life in a different light.
A Second Life is both an ode to friendship and an urban fairy tale. It provides an almost docudrama perspective, a portrait of a city in the grips of a massive sporting event, taking place on a beautiful summer day in Paris. It features vivid performances by Agathe Rousselle (known for her lead role in the Palme d’Or winner, Titane) and Alex Lawther (best known for The Imitation Game and Andor).
The fragile authenticity of the main protagonists’ experiences is further amplified by an intense soundtrack that lets us into Elisabeth’s world as she deals not only with the demands of her work and the people she meets, but also with the realities of a hearing impairment. This is a film that can be counted alongside other striking, Paris-set tales of people finding each other and their way in the world, including Before Sunset, A Single Girl, Souleymane’s Story, and Sound of Metal.
“A Second Life winds up transforming into something unexpected: not a romance, per se, but a chronicle of a budding friendship between two young people in need of genuine human affection.” - Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter
“A Second Life ensures its important message is put forward with beautiful cinematography, playful sound design and excellent utilization of its location and the noise that surrounds it.” - Rebecca Johnson, Nerdspin
“It'll make you think, make you cry, but above all it will make you feel seen. Not only for those struggling with depression, but for those just trying to find their place in the world.” - Rua Fay Cinemasters
Tickets $12 ($11.40 cash at the door if available)
