MON ONCLE D'AMERIQUE

France, 1980, 125 minutes, Colour.
Gerard Depardieu, Nicole Garcia, Roger Pierre, Nelly Bourgeaud, Pierre Arditi, Marie Dubois, Henri Laborit.
Directed by Alain Resnais.

Alain Resnais, for twenty years, has used the techniques of editing for fluid movement of character development while playing with time and intercutting subplots - initial jigsaw/collage effect, but ultimately a satisfying complex experience of plot, character, themes, meaning.

This film explores three characters symbolic of today's urban lifestyle and pressures. But the framework is a scientific psychology lecture (intercut throughout) on the brain and the central nervous system, people affected (not deterministically) by environment and physiological changes: creating drives, achievements, crises. Characters illustrate lecture. Lecture explains characters. The complexity draws us into myriad themes of education, work and career, success, mid-life crises, psychosomatic illness, death. Fascinating and enjoyable. Resnais' early work was highly experimental: Hiroshima Mon Amour, Last Year At Marienbad, Muriel, The War Is Over. His films of the '70s use the same techniques but more in relation to conventional plots: Stavisky, Providence.

1. The impact of the film? Oscar nomination for screenplay? Nominations and awards? The work of Alain Resnais? The experience of his type of cinema? Visual impact, verbal impact? Communication, information, instruction? A film of the 70s into the 80s?

2. The work of Henri Laborit? The presuppositions about the brain, his theories, environment, parallels and differences? The photo collage? The evolutionary program, explanations? Life and its meaning, origins? Survival and the development of humans? The intercutting of the lecture during the narrative? Laborit in himself, his explanations, credentials? The cinematic devices to present his work? Documentation, response?

3. The intercutting of the narrative? The introductions, photos and details, statistics, employment? Independence and interchange? Births, dates, family, society? The human left? The Catholic right? Portrait of family? Career, relationships? Similarities and differences?

4. The cinematic style, France in 1980, authentic? The editing and pace? Time shifts? The musical score?

5. Gerard Depardieu as Rene? His character, unimaginative? The background of French films: Jean Marais and his heroics? Jean Gabin and his stolid presence? Intercutting these images, the idols, the 30s? Imitation, influence, reflection?

6. Jean in himself, the island, study and imagination, father, grandfather? The girls, relationship with Arlette? The decisions, marriage, family and happiness?

7. Jean and his work, his promotion, the office, the girls? His being sacked? The dinner and his friend? Julie and play, talk, infatuation? Relationship, leaving and the children? The scene, live-in? Illness? The book? Jean’s going and belief?

8. Arlette, pain, visit and death? Re-meeting, revisiting? The hunt? Being abandoned?

9. The child, the irritating the teacher, work, leaving and mother, the mother refusing? The flat, the rehearsal, success, the long run? Jean and the liaison? Arlette and leaving? The job, the factory, Rene and desperation? The changing jobs, the confrontation?

10. Rene, his character, his work, his interactions with the characters?

11. The range of characters, especially Jean’s father and mother, the grandfather? Janine and her character, presence? Her mother and father? Rene’s mother?

12. All the characters as illustrations of Laborit’s theories, lecture? The intellectual stimulus of the film? Emotional response? A film for reflection?