The story revolves around three characters. Jean is a bourgeois politician, Janine is a actress and Rene (Gerard Depardieu) is a manager at a textile company. The film flashes back to their past, where it shows the births and childhoods of the three individuals. Jean was born on an island, where he was looked after by his father and grandfather. His childhood consisted of eating crabs, digging a hole and reading adventure books in a tree. Janine lived in a flat for her childhood, with communist parents and the need to rebel against them. Rene was born on a farm, to a strict family with strict rules that had low expectations of him. Throughout the film, the separate storylines of the now fully grown three protagonists occasionally meet.
Resnais is one of the greatest French New Wave directors, and is mostly ignored over Godard or Truffaut. His films feature advanced plots, scattered narratives and amazing scripts, and things are no different with 'My American Uncle'.
Equally focusing the story on three main characters is a technique I have not seen in cinema before. The film opens with French philosopher Henri Laborit talking to the camera. The narration does not stop throughout the film, so in a way, he is the fourth protagonist. His theories towards human instinct and survival are intriguing, but also cinematic. As he narrates, sporadic flashbacks and flash-forwards occur on screen, corresponding to his ideas and philosophies. White rats help to demonstrate this, and are used as test subjects. The film compares the rat's reactions when being shocked to the character's actions in the film. Laborit is telling us that we may not have as much freedom as we may think, and our actions are instinctive and nurtured from birth. Throughout the film, he talks about many philosophical subjects such as the subconscious and biological behaviour (among others).
The three characters are portrayed well by the three main characters. This is the most serious performance I have seen Depardieu act, but I feel Roger Pierre gives a more iconic performance. No matter how they act, this film is Resnais's. The fast paced editing, the quick French talking, the complex plot structure and the brilliant script, all seem to be Resnais trademarks.
There are distressing scenes, thought-provoking scenes, and memorizing scenes but I feel like I didn't get as much out of it as other critics have. This is definitely one to watch again.
TO CONCLUDE
A good and philosophical way to spend two hours. Resnais's directing is on top form.
SCORE
77
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