The Armenian diaspora finds itself scattered all over the Western world, including Marsellies, a seaside French city. Robert Guédiguian’s And The Party Goes On, a film with good intentions, depicts members of that diaspora, thriving despite everything. One of its members is Rosa (Ariane Ascaride), serving the community in many ways, including as a nurse. It’s a thankless job, her duties including encouraging fellow nurses like Laetitia who faces death every single day. 

Rosa befriends Henri (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), accompanying him whenever his daughter is busy organising within the community. Henri and Rosa grow feelings for each other, which isn’t the best thing to happen to them because… reasons. Henri’s activist daughter, Alice (Lola Naymark), is dating Rosa’s son Sarkis, and she’s hiding a secret from him. Sarkis wants a lot of children, chalking it up to Armenian tradition, and she’s valid about not wanting any children.

The biggest criticism one can have against And The Party Goes On is, well, where is this party at? It’s a shallow yet valid criticism towards a film that eventually leads to a political performance art piece. Sure, let’s give it the benefit of the doubt that there’s a bilingual pun in the title’s English translation. Although the film’s original’s title is Et la fête continue! so now that justification doesn’t make any sense. 

Reframing the film – And Life Goes On? – helps, but then the film feels busy for its own good. It presents all these pieces separately for their inevitable intersection, but the forward momentum feels too inert for that. It also doesn’t help that the film simplifies the tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and makes the issue black and white. Despite all of this, the film hints at a style that can produce better versions of this first draft.