My Golden Days

On the eve of leaving Tajikistan, a young man named Paul starts to reconstruct the map of his adolescence. The story unfolds as a memory deck where everyday details become signs of who he will become. He recalls a turbulent childhood, his mother's fragile mental state, and the late night parties that blurred lines between joy and confusion. A decisive journey to the former USSR becomes a raw rite of passage, where he discovers love and loses his innocence in a fleeting encounter. A friend betrays him, testing trust and loyalty. Through Esther, the love of his life, he feels both elation and peril. The narrative alternates between present departure and past summers, shaping his future voice. The film plays with memory's distortions, letting humor and pain blur together as Paul pieces together what really happened.

Directed by Arnaud Desplechin, with Julie Peyr co-writing, My Golden Days released in 2015 as part of Desplechin's Paul Dédalus cycle; it's an original screenplay connected to earlier films, not adapted from a book.

The film earned about 269 thousand dollars at the box office worldwide, a modest return that mirrors its intimate, art house appeal rather than mass market reach.

Within Desplechin's body of work the film feels like a personal time capsule. Quentin Dolmaire's take on a restless youth, paired with patient close camera work, invites viewers into rooms and conversations where time slips away and small moments quietly shape a writer's voice. Esther and the city itself become characters in a mood based on longing, chance encounters, and the unspoken price of growing up. The film's visual rhythm invites reflection rather than action.

Critics have noted its measured tempo and the way memory folds time into a cinematic braid. The themes of family strain, first love, and the tension between documentary detail and emotional truth give the story a thoughtful, human resonance that lingers beyond the final scene.