A Magnificent Life (12A)

29 March 2026 - 11:20 // Odeon Screen 11, Manchester Great Northern, 235 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4EN

Upcoming Event

Working in partnership with Manchester Film Festival we present a special preview of the new film by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist) about French playwright, filmmaker, and inventor Marcel Pagnol.

At 61, Pagnol appears very close to giving up on his career, so a younger Marcel comes to the rescue. When asked to write a memoir, Pagnol simply can’t do it – not without the help of hope and optimism personified in the figure of young Marcel. Pagnol is viewed as a man at ease with the times, embracing the medium of cinema when his theatre colleagues were too sceptical to try. Set against the backdrop of Paris’ Belle Epoque, the rise of fascism, and the Second World War.

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Films in this programme

A Magnificent Life

A Magnificent Life

Dir. Sylvain Chomet // 2025 // France / Belgium / Luxembourg // Lang. French

At 61 Pagnol appears very close to giving up on his career, so a younger Marcel comes to the rescue. When asked to write a memoir, Pagnol simply can’t do it – not without the help of hope and optimism personified in the figure of young Marcel. Pagnol is viewed as a man at ease with the times, embracing the medium of cinema when his theatre colleagues were too sceptical to try. Set against the backdrop of Paris’ Belle Epoque, the rise of fascism, and the Second World War.

Runtime: 01:30:00

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