Sarentrol Masterful Cinema

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

FilmCriticLalitRao By making "Mon Oncle D'Amérique" / My American uncle, French director Alain Resnais made a strong as well as serious attempt to comprehend whether human beings are same as rats ? He wanted to portray the fundamental behavior of human beings when confronted with a rival or dealing with life's tough situations. For this film, Resnais teamed up with famous French neurobiologist Henri Laborit to investigate whether the behavioral traits of human beings can be observed as precisely as those of rats in laboratories ? This film features outstanding performances by Gérard Depardieu and Nicole Garcia.In many ways, the acting performances of this film's actors is a direct tribute to the glorious past of French cinema. Each major actor is shown as connected to another colossal figure of French cinema. This is done by linking Depardieu with Jean Gabin and Jean Marais and Nicole Garcia with Danielle Darrieux.My American uncle is neither difficult nor intellectual in nature.It is a different film as before Alain Resnais no director thought of amalgamating a feature film with shades of documentary film's aesthetics. It is a film which requires viewers to display some form of intelligence in order to comprehend scientific explanations which are "Raison D'être" of its characters' behavioral as well as personal traits. The historical importance of "My American uncle" is due to the fact that Resnais' film features creators as 'real stars' as opposed to actors as 'real stars'.

Ilpo Hirvonen Alain Resnais' "My American Uncle" (1980) is an exceptionally different film as a unique blend of science and art, however, it's not necessarily anything entirely new to the director himself. After all, time -- in its ontological, existential and historical context -- has always been a leading theme for Resnais. In fact, throughout his career Resnais has studied how the past forms the present and how our personal and collective memories form our consciousness and culture. Although Resnais' approach has always been more philosophical than psychological, in "My American Uncle" this thematic study has been taken to a whole new level: it has turned into a laboratory experiment with three fictional characters whose stories both differ and coincide, leading into an inevitable fusion.In addition to this trio the film has a fourth integral character, Henri Laborit, a scientist devoted to basic research, whose evolutionary and behaviorist theories are examined in the lives of the three characters. Sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant, but always fruitful, this blend of science and art results not only in synthesis of reason and emotion, theory and practice, but also in profound dialectics of fact and fiction, reality and cinema. Above all, the freedom of the spectator is an essential element for Resnais and therefore, Laborit's commentary never works as an absolute frame of reference. On the contrary, the viewer is free to choose whether the fiction coincides with his theories or contradicts them. In close connection with the theme of time, here Resnais studies the essence of humanity. All the characters of "My American Uncle", including Laborit, are introduced from their childhood to the present, and the viewer is given a point of reference to ponder what makes us who we are. Resnais asks, for example, how does biology (gender, temperament and prenatal factors), environment (the films we see, the people we admire, family and culture) and the nerve system affect our development. In brief, Resnais contemplates what it means to be a human being. Laborit himself offers a thought on this by saying that man is "a memory that acts."All in all, "My American Uncle" is a film that has been built with precision and care. When watched right, it unfolds in an utterly beautiful fashion. The film is as if an organic mosaic -- like human life itself -- which gathers its final, though subjective, form later in the spectator's mind as the pieces come together. The stories, first introduced in collage-like photo montage, aren't finished for they continue their development outside the borders of the screen. These are the stories about perpetual failures and the fragility of happiness and contentment. All the characters are hoping for something better. Their mundane existence is characterized by a constant yearn for freedom, love and happiness. All of them are waiting for something -- for their own American uncle.

blanche-2 Truly I don't think there has ever been a film put together like Jean Resnais' Mon oncle d'Amerique. The narration by a well-known scientist, the stories of three people, interspersed with film clips starring Danielle Darrieux, Jean Gabin, and Jean Marais. Go figure.Mon oncle d'Amerique begins slowly and one becomes impatient for something to happen. Stick with it.Psychologist Henri Laborit explains his theories, punctuated by the behavior of animals, as the stories of three people who are somewhat connected are told. And we see that the humans react in much the same way as the animals do in the various behavioral experiments.The story most people will be able to relate to most is the one featuring Gerard Depardieu, a man faced with the merger of his company and impending job loss.The film runs the gamut of high drama, humor, and tragedy. Most of the characters are likable and have a good deal of warmth. They are us, some of the situations are familiar, and the take on human behavior is fascinating. Even Jean Gabin, Jean Marais, and Danielle Darrieux get pulled into it - actors yes, but portraying human beings.

manoel-giffoni I have just seen the film in my city's biggest cine club with just about all my cinema colleagues. When I bought the ticket I was handled a leaflet with comments of some critics and the very first sentence was "it questions what it is to be French" which obviously scared me. Although I much love the European country and do like many of its films, this is not a question I catch myself asking every now and then. It seemed like a Nouvelle Vague personal crisis of what am I, where I am at, and all that... and I have to say my opinion about the Nouvelle Vague is quite controversial to most of the cinema fans. When the film began, the explanation of the thesis the movies shows most willingness to prove, I all had was a confirmation and a damn-it-what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here sensation. However, I've payed for the ticket, I had slept for the whole afternoon and I didn't have money for extra beers outside the cinema, so I stubbornly decided to stay. And what a wise decision I have made! The plot goes on beautifully questioning everything (and I couldn't spot the French questions, thanks God). I actually saw questions about love and life - definitely not exclusive to the French. I saw characters that were designed with a precise care - not excessively harsh, nor excessively romantic. Real people with real problems and real solutions (for the good or for the bad). In a sensitive and reasonable balance, not in the hysterical way many movies end up going whilst pondering about such questions. I have to say I thought a zillion times on the last part of the movie that this was the time to stop, to finish. And the director kept on repeating scenes and talking about all his personal theories - which I think the viewer has the legitimate right to formulate. But it kept on going and kept on going like a brainwash. I, myself, and what I think is my intelligence, got a little offended. In the overall, I really enjoyed the film. And I am going to watch some other Resnais' work to see if his cutting skills had developed, don't worry.