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On My Way

On My Way (Elle s'en va)

Movie · 2013 · 10 people

Emmanuelle Bercot directed On My Way, in French Elle s'en va ("She's leaving"), a 2013 French road movie sitting between comedy and drama. Its star is Catherine Deneuve, described as an icon of French cinema. The film premiered in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, and one source says it closed the competition program. It was shown in Germany as Madame empfiehlt sich and in Russia as Za sigaretami. Filmed in French, it runs about 116 minutes.

Bettie (Catherine Deneuve) is a still-attractive woman in her sixties and a former beauty queen whose glory days are behind her. In this new phase of her life she will be tested by new opportunities. She breaks away from her everyday routine and sets off on a journey across France, which leads her to a new affection for a man from her own family. Nemo Schiffman plays Charly, Camille plays Muriel and Paul Hamy plays Marco. The cast also includes Hafsia Herzi, Gérard Garouste, Claude Gensac, Mylène Demongeot, Évelyne Leclercq and Valérie Lagrange.

Bercot wrote the screenplay with Jérôme Tonnerre. Fidélité Productions and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma are among the producers.

DirectorEmmanuelle Bercot
Production companyFidélité Productions

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Cast

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Catherine Deneuve Catherine Deneuve Film actor · 83 years old Hafsia Herzi Hafsia Herzi Film actor · 39 years old Nemo Schiffman Gérard Garouste Camille Claude Gensac Mylène Demongeot Évelyne Leclercq Valérie Lagrange Paul Hamy

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Emmanuelle Bercot deliberately uses Deneuve's star image as raw material: a former beauty queen whose glory days are behind her works as a subtle mirror held up to the actress's own legend. The road-movie structure suits a character study like this; the journey across France lets Bettie be tested through different encounters and relationships. But that episodic structure cuts both ways: some stops add to the story while others feel like filler, and the film makes its length felt. The shifts between comedy and drama are mostly smooth, and that mature tone is what explains its place in the Berlin competition.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film is about a woman in her sixties turning a new page, and it makes room for a kind of representation rarely seen on screen for women of that age. Bettie's identity was long defined by a beauty title from the past; the film hints at the void that a society judging women by youth and looks leaves as they grow older. Breaking away from her routine and hitting the road invites us to see ageing not as an ending but as the possibility of a new start. That the journey leads her to a new closeness with a man from her own family adds a hopeful note about rebuilding the bonds between generations.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

It is a calm, grown-up road movie whose tone sits between comedy and drama. Since it is about a woman in her sixties rearranging her life, it will not hold much appeal for young children. It is better suited to parents and grandparents. With its story of different generations of a family drawing closer, it is a warm film for adults to watch together and talk about afterwards.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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