What is the film Ari Aster wanted to make but never did? According to interviews, Aster envisioned C’est La Vie as a four-hour-long surreal comedy exploring themes of death and absurdity, blending his signature horror style with dark humor. Fans and critics alike are left wondering why this project remains unrealized and how it would have further expanded Aster’s reputation as a master of emotional and psychological storytelling.
This article will take a deep dive into Ari Aster’s unmade film, discussing its potential plot, themes, and significance while also analyzing how this lost project fits into Aster’s larger body of work.
Before discussing C’est La Vie, it’s important to understand Ari Aster’s journey as a filmmaker and how his unique voice developed. Aster burst onto the scene in 2018 with Hereditary, a film that quickly became a landmark in modern horror. Known for its devastating portrayal of family grief intertwined with supernatural elements, Hereditary was hailed as one of the scariest films of the decade.
Following the success of Hereditary, Aster directed Midsommar in 2019, another film that blurred the lines between psychological horror and dark drama. Set in a bright, open-air Swedish commune, Midsommar explored themes of isolation, trauma, and the breakdown of relationships. Its unsettling atmosphere and emotional weight solidified Aster’s place as a visionary filmmaker.
Both of these films laid the foundation for what would have been C’est La Vie, his unmade nightmare comedy. These earlier works showcase Aster’s penchant for tackling heavy, existential themes, often pushing the boundaries of traditional horror. It is these same themes that Aster sought to explore through a comedic lens in C’est La Vie.
At the center of this article is the burning question: What is the film Ari Aster wanted to make but never did? In several interviews, Aster has discussed his desire to create a film called C’est La Vie, a dark, surreal comedy that he describes as a "nightmare comedy." The concept behind this project was to combine his distinct horror sensibilities with humor, creating a film that would push the boundaries of genre.
The title C’est La Vie, meaning "that’s life" in French, suggests a film that would focus on the absurdities and inevitabilities of life, particularly death. Aster has always been interested in exploring themes of mortality, suffering, and the human condition, and this unmade film would have provided a unique lens through which to examine these ideas.
Despite its intriguing premise, C’est La Vie never moved forward in production, leaving fans to speculate about what could have been.
Ari Aster’s C’est La Vie was conceived as a film that would straddle the line between horror and comedy. In interviews, Aster revealed that this unmade film would have been four hours long, exploring themes of existential dread, death, and the absurdity of life in a way that was simultaneously terrifying and humorous.
A nightmare comedy is, by definition, a challenging genre to pull off. Aster, however, has already shown his capability to balance dark, emotionally charged material with moments of strange levity. In Hereditary, for instance, the unsettling scene where Annie (played by Toni Collette) decapitates herself evokes both shock and a certain grotesque absurdity.
C’est La Vie would likely have taken this balance to the next level, focusing on the absurd aspects of life’s darkest moments. Aster has a particular talent for making audiences uncomfortable, and by blending horror with humor, C’est La Vie would have challenged viewers to confront their fears while laughing at life’s inherent chaos.
At the heart of C’est La Vie were the themes of death and absurdity, both of which are central to much of Aster’s work. Aster’s films often explore the ways in which people cope with loss, grief, and trauma, and these heavy subjects were expected to be at the core of C’est La Vie. However, rather than taking a somber tone, this unmade project was designed to confront the absurdity of existence with humor.
Aster’s previous films, like Hereditary and Midsommar, also touch on the randomness and unpredictability of life. In Midsommar, for example, Dani’s tragic loss at the beginning of the film sets the stage for her journey into a cult-like society, where the line between life and death is blurred. In C’est La Vie, these themes of life’s unpredictability would have been presented with a comedic twist, inviting audiences to laugh at the inevitable chaos of life.
The humor in C’est La Vie would likely have been dark and surreal, much like the comedy found in films like Dr. Strangelove or The Lobster. Aster has a unique ability to take absurd situations and make them both terrifying and amusing, which is why C’est La Vie remains one of the most intriguing unmade films in recent memory.
To understand the significance of C’est La Vie, it’s essential to examine how Ari Aster’s style has evolved over the years. From his early short films to his feature-length debuts, Aster has consistently pushed the boundaries of horror, using the genre as a vehicle to explore deeper emotional and psychological themes.
With Hereditary, Aster redefined family horror by making trauma and grief the film’s true villains. In Midsommar, he transformed a story about relationship breakdowns into a bright, sun-drenched nightmare. These films have earned Aster a reputation for delivering complex, multi-layered narratives that subvert audience expectations.
C’est La Vie would have been another evolution in Aster’s filmmaking style. Rather than relying purely on horror, this film would have explored the comedic potential within horror’s darkest themes. It would have been a film that reflected both Aster’s desire to experiment with genre and his ongoing fascination with the absurdity of life.
