There comes a point in every child’s life when they start seeing their parents not solely as all-powerful protectors, but also as human beings, flaws and all. Spurred by the discovery of her mother’s attempt to kill herself, Belgian film-maker Faustine Cros revisits countless home videos from her childhood through fresh eyes. In light of what happened, these seemingly innocuous family moments lay bare the stark paradox of motherhood, where feelings of joy and entrapment collide.
Once a successful makeup artist, Cros’s mother Valérie put her career on pause after the birth of her children, but the transition was a difficult one. While much of the film is constructed around old footage shot by her film-maker father, Cros brilliantly inserts her own directorial gaze, as she sifts through the grains of the past; through incisive yet delicate editing, she carefully isolates decades-spanning images that reveal the emotional cracks behind everyday routines. From the stress of a grocery trip gone wrong to Valérie’s quiet sigh after a chaotic dinner, these small moments of exasperation, loneliness and exhaustion, when threaded together, convey the sheer scale of labour that goes into domestic work. It is perhaps revealing that, now in her 60s, Valérie rarely cooks.
When observing a younger Valérie struggle with housework, you find yourself wishing that her husband would simply put down the camera and help. His filming did finally come to an end after a particularly explosive video, in which Valérie erupts into a volatile speech that blames men – and society at large – for placing the burden of home life squarely on women’s shoulders. Cros, however, does not take sides or pass easy judgment; instead, her reinterpretation of past footage movingly turns into a form of advocacy, championing Valérie’s resilience as anything but ordinary.
• A Life Like Any Other is on True Story from 16 August.
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
