Three Days and a Life ending explained: What happens to Antoine 15 years after the crime?

Three Days and a Life (Trois jours et une vie) is a French crime drama that follows a man haunted by the memories of something he did as a child. It is a harrowing portrait of a man living with the constant burden of guilt and grief, and its overwhelming weight on his conscience.

The ending offers him some grace, but at the cost of his hopes and dreams. Before peeling off its psychological layers, let's first understand what it's about. Here's the official synopsis, per IMDb:

"Christmas 1999, in a peaceful little village in the Ardennes. The life of a young boy named Antoine will soon be devastated by three tragic events: the death of a dog, the vanishing of a child, and a big ravaging storm."

Nicolas Boukhrief directed this film from a screenplay by Perrine Margaine based on Pierre Lemaitre's eponymous 2016 novel. It was released in 2019 and is currently available to watch online on the France Channel on Amazon Prime Video. The central cast includes Pablo Pauly, Jérémie Senez, Sandrine Bonnaire, Charles Berling, and more.

Three Days and a Life is divided into two halves, where the first chapter details protagonist Antoine's childhood in 1999 and the next part reveals him confronting his past, nearly 15 years later.

Antoine's Childhood, 1999

A still from Three Days and a Life (Image via YouTube/gaumont)

Three Days and a Life is an investigative thriller that takes place in a small Belgian town in a kind of close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else, which would make it nearly impossible to hold on to a secret. Still, 12-year-old Antoine (Jeremy Senez) holds on to one for many years.

It begins on a random day in December 1999 when Antoine joins his close friend Remi (Léo Lévy) on their way to school. Although shy and reserved, he finds it easier to open up to Remy than anyone else. Together, they build a hut in the woods, but their friendship takes a swift turn after Remi's father, Michel (Charles Berling), shoots his pet dog to death.

Michel was only trying to save that dog from more suffering after getting hit by a car. However, at a young age, Antoine doesn't quite understand that. He finds it strange that Michel feels no remorse. On the same day, Antoine feels betrayed by Remi's sister (and his romantic crush), Emilie, who kisses another boy. So, the next day, he destroys his and Remi's hut and throws a stick at Remi, which accidentally kills him.

Antoine throws Remi's body in a crevice and returns home, pretending to know nothing about Remi's whereabouts. The cops investigate Remi's disappearance but hit a dead end. Soon, their town gets hit by a thunderstorm, which destroys the nearby forest. So, the cops are forced to withdraw their investigation.

Antoine's Adulthood, 2014

15 years later, Antoine (Pablo Pauly) is a medical graduate who hopes to start working in Cairo, Egypt. The local doctor requests that Antoine take over his medical practice, but Antoine rejects him. While back in town, he and Emilie confess that they once had feelings for each other. So, they have a one-night stand, and she gets pregnant.

Emilie (Margot Bancilhon) insists Antoine accept their child and not abort it. Around this time, the authorities start clearing the forests to build a new project. That's when they find Remi's body along with a DNA sample that doesn't belong to him or the men once suspected of killing him. That's why Michel insists they reopen the case to find the culprit.

Can Antoine ever recover from the weight of his guilt?

Toward the end of Three Days and a Life, Antoine realizes that his secret is not a secret after all. The local doctor confesses to knowing Antoine's connection to Remi's disappearance for all those years. Another man hands over the watch that Antoine lost while running away from his crime. So, to bury the hatchet, Antoine agrees to stay back in the town, take over the doctor's medical practice, and marry Emilie.

Three years later, Antoine and Emilie live as a married couple and have a meal with their parents. However, he is far from pleased with his fate. He is forced to lead a life that he doesn't want to. So, the final moments of Three Days and a Life show the bittersweet tragedy of his life.

Despite the festivities, he is morose because his guilt is still eating him up. It shows how no matter how much you try to run away from your past, it catches up with you one way or the other.