''On My Way'' () is a 2013 French

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

directed by

Emmanuelle Bercot Emmanuelle Bercot is a French actress, film director, and screenwriter. Career Filmmaking Bercot wrote, directed, and played a lead role in the film '' Clément'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film ...

. The film premiered in competition at the

63rd Berlin International Film Festival The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival took place in Berlin, Germany, between 7 and 17 February 2013. Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai was announced as the president of the jury and his film '' The Grandmaster'' was the opening fil ...

Plot

Bettie (Deneuve), a harried restaurant owner from

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, is an aging former

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

with an estranged adult daughter and grandson and an elderly mother who meddles in her life. She loves a married businessman who always told her he would divorce his wife in order to marry her. He indeed files for a divorce, but Bettie discovers that it is actually because he is also having another affair with another much-younger woman. At about the same time, the bank threatens to close down her restaurant. When she goes out to run some errands, she impulsively decides to leave her former life behind. She takes her car and just keeps on driving. She discovers other parts of France and makes new friends in the process.

Cast

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

as Bettie *

Gérard Garouste Gérard Garouste (born 10 March 1946) is a French Contemporary art, contemporary artist having the primary field of work as visual and performative domain. Since 1979, he has lived and worked in Marcilly-sur-Eure in Normandy, where he founded an ...

as Alan * Camille as Muriel *

Mylène Demongeot Mylène Demongeot (; born Marie-Hélène Demongeot ; 29 September 1935 – 1 December 2022) was a French film, television and theatre actress and author with a career spanning seven decades and more than 100 credits in French language, French, ...

as Fanfan *

Claude Gensac Claude Gensac (1 March 1927 – 27 December 2016) was a French actress. She appeared in more than 70 films and television productions since 1952. Gensac is the oldest nominee to date in the category César Award for Best Supporting Actress, nomi ...

as Annie * Paul Hamy as Marco *

Hafsia Herzi Hafsia Herzi (born 25 January 1987) is a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She is best known for her debut role in the award-winning Franco-Tunisian feature '' The Secret of the Grain'' for which she won the award for most promising actr ...

as Jeanne * Valérie Lagrange as Miss Mayenne 1969 *Évelyne Leclercq as Miss Champagne 1969

Production

Principal photography began from 14 May 2012.

Reception

''On My Way'' received generally positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has a rating of 80% based on 41 reviews and an average rating of 6.50/10. The site's consensus reads, "While the script may not always be worthy of her gifts, Catherine Deneuve's performance ultimately offers more than enough reason to watch ''On My Way''.". On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 60 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Jordan Mintzer titled his

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

in ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' "Catherine Deneuve hits the road in this rocky third feature from actress-filmmaker Emmanuelle Bercot" and resumed ''On My Way (Elle s'en va)'' was "a film that's much more

bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse ( , , ; ) is a traditional Cuisine of Provence, Provençal fish soup originating in the port city of Marseille. The word is originally a compound of the two Provençal verbs ('to boiling, boil') and ('to reduce heat', i.e. 'sim ...

than

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is a style of cooking characterised by meticulous preparation, elaborate presentation, and the use of high quality ingredients. Typically prepared by highly skilled gourmet chefs, haute cuisine dish ...

Accolades

References

External links

*
On My Way
at Uni France films {{DEFAULTSORT:On My Way 2013 films 2010s road comedy-drama films 2010s French-language films French road comedy-drama films Films about beauty queens Films directed by Emmanuelle Bercot 2010s French films Films produced by Olivier Delbosc Films produced by Marc Missonnier French-language comedy-drama films