Life Is a Bed of Roses

Life Is a Bed of Roses (French: La vie est un roman) is a 1983 French film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Jean Gruault. The English-language distribution title of the film is Life Is a Bed of Roses, though it has also been known as Forbek's Castle and Life Is a Fairy Tale. A literal translation of the original title is "Life is a novel [or story, romance]"; in the film the French quotation (or misquotation) is attributed to Napoleon. Plot The film interweaves three stories from different eras but sharing a common location, in the forest of Ardennes. In legendary times, the baby son of a king is rescued by his nurse when his father is killed by a rival. When the boy grows up, he kills a dragon, rescues a maiden, and reclaims his kingdom, to initiate a reign of love and happiness. In 1914, the wealthy Count Forbek announces to his friends his plan to build an extravagant castle, a "temple of happiness", as a home for himself and for them, which he will dedicate to Livia, the woman he intends to marry. His plans are disrupted by the onset of the First World War, and Livia marries Raoul, an army officer; but in 1920 the castle is sufficiently complete for Forbek to entertain his friends there. He invites them all to participate in an experiment in which their present discontents and all their memories will be wiped away when they drink a potion, and they will be reborn as new people, re-educated to live in perfect harmony. Livia alone secretly avoids drinking the potion and observes its effect on the others. When she learns that Raoul has died in the experiment, she denounces Forbek's scheme, and he is devastated by her rejection.