'' The Things of Life '' ( ) is a 1970 French film directed by Claude Sautet . Based on the novel '' Les Choses de la vie '' ( English title '' Intersection ) '' by Paul Guimard , the film circles around a car accident experienced by the main character , and the events before and after it . It was nominated for the top award ( the Palme d'Or ) at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival . In France the film had 2,959,682 admissions , making it the eighth highest earning film of the year . The structure of the film involves frequent jumps in time - between the time of , and after , the car crash , and before the crash . The opening sequence jumps between the period immediately after the crash , and the crash itself
1970 Cannes Film Festival
1970 Cannes Film Festival
The Things of Life