The Things of Life (1970): “We never really know the weight of things… until they slip away.”

A Shattered Windshield. A Frozen Moment. A Life Unraveling.

In Claude Sautet’s haunting masterpiece The Things of Life, one violent car crash slices a man’s existence in half — between past and present, love and regret, passion and betrayal. Time fractures. And in that silent wreckage, the film dares to ask: What truly matters when death looks you straight in the eyes?

A Man Torn Between a Wife… a Lover… and Himself.

Pierre (Michel Piccoli) isn’t just an ordinary man. He’s every man trapped between duty and desire. Between his estranged wife, his secret lover Hélène (Romy Schneider), and his thirst for freedom, Pierre’s choices collide on that sunlit road. And as his car flips in slow motion, the fragments of his past explode across the screen. Lovers’ whispers. Lingering kisses. Bitter fights. Forgotten promises.

Does love forgive? Does betrayal ever heal?

A Film That Bleeds Intimacy and Stings with Realism.

The Things of Life doesn’t scream. It whispers in your ear — with scenes so tender they almost hurt, and moments so honest they slice open the heart. Romy Schneider’s magnetic presence isn’t just beautiful — it’s dangerous, loaded with the silent questions lovers never dare ask.

And when Pierre’s memories blur with the flashing lights of the ambulance, we are left gasping:
Is it ever too late to choose love?

A Slow-Motion Masterpiece About How Fast Life Slips Away.

Sautet crafts a sensual, piercing meditation on life’s cruel timing. The film isn’t about a crash. It’s about everything that happens before — and everything you wish you could change after.

In the quiet moments between life and death, The Things of Life reminds us:
Some decisions are made for you… when it’s already too late.