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(More customer reviews)"My Life on Ice" (Ma vraie vie a Rouen) shows how a 16-year old French student and figure skater uses a gift digital camera to explore his world and his relationships, allowing him to make some decisions and forays.
Etienne (played by Jimmy Tavares) gets along very well with his widowed mother, Caroline (played by Ariane Ascaride) and his step-father's mother, Granma (played by Helene Surgere). When Granma wins a digital camera in a lottery, she passes it on to Etienne at the start of the movie.
Etienne figures the camera out immediately and takes pictures of what matters most to him - his mother and grandmother, his skating, his best friend, Ludovic (played by Lucas Bonnifait), his geography teacher, Laurent (played by Jonathan Zaccai), and his skating partner (played by Nicolas Pontois). The picture recording becomes obsessive. Etienne tries to keep the proceedings fun and natural but is able to take advantage of Ludovic's vanity to have him answer questions on the sex he has when dating girls. Eventually Etienne's movie stars ask him to leave them more of their privacy.
Early on Ludovic hears Etienne's proclamation that the coming school year is the Year of Love, when he will fall in love and have sex. Well, maybe he will have to compete first in the French ice skating championships (in which he comes in second). Later on Ludovic remembers and suggests that Etienne get a move on in courting the ladies.
Etienne does finagle an early meeting between his mother and the geography teacher, who hit it off and become a couple. Laurent makes an easy-going father-figure, but what does Etienne really think of that, especially since Laurent has been making observations of his own.
After Laurent has an accident, Etienne asks Ludovic a dangerous, leading question, triggering a logical next step and leading to a happy, unexpected conclusion.
Etienne is not a trained photographer; so the picture shown has technically poor editing, lighting, and composition from time to time. The quality picks up as Etienne improves and uses a remote control. The movie's makers do produce order from the quasi-amateur efforts; so it's all right.
While Etienne is a friendly, endearing fellow, he does not verbalize his inner self. He uses his camera to explore his interests and draws his own conclusions. Unlike what traditionally happens in this type of movie, there are no soliloquies, journals, class essays, or sobbing to sympathetic female classmates or family members. Etienne is following a normal coming-out process, but relying on an unusual prop. He does push his luck. The is curious and exploring. The audience has to work a little bit.
The ending was abrupt, elliptic, and happy. Maybe there could be a sequel?
While Etienne takes some skin shots of his skating partner, of Ludovic (thrice), and of Laurent, the main character goes the distance himself more than once, earning extra points for looks and bravery.
All the main actors are good. Jimmy Tavares and Nicolas Pontois do their own expert figure skating. The sets and Normandy locations (Rouen, Dieppe, the coast) are attractive. It was nice to have a cameo from Frederic Gorny of "Wild Reeds."
The extras include a very good commentary from the two directors (Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, who also did "The Adventures of Felix"), a trailer, and previews of three other movies.
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