Alain Resnais' Mon Oncle d'Amerique is an interesting intellectual exercise that sometimes works as a movie. It centers around the concepts of scientist philosopher Henri Laborit, who sees human actions as programmatic reactions based on physical phenomenon; thousands of tiny instructions and visceral reactions that create what we believe is free will. Some IMDB reviewers find that cynical, but I find it quite convincing.
These ideas are laid out through the lives of three people. Laborit explains how mice react in experiments while we watch mice, then we see how human beings react in seemingly analogous ways. Sometimes to drive the point out human dramas are played out by humans wearing mice-head masks.
At the same time, the dramas in the characters lives are juxtaposed with brief film clips. This puzzled me for most of the movie until I realized it was a way of comparing how people see their own actions - as big, dramatic moments full of fury and passion and despair - with how Laborit sees them.
Resnais' films are all, from what I've seen, intellectual and experimental. But some, like Hiroshima Mon Amour, are also dramatically and emotionally compelling. In the case of Mon Oncle d'Amerique I never felt a strong connection to its characters. Take away the Laborit framework and you've got a pretty conventional slice of lives movie.
Resnais is always interesting but not always enjoyable. This movie is, for me, fairly interesting and mildly enjoyable. It's worth watching, but not something I would watch again.
These ideas are laid out through the lives of three people. Laborit explains how mice react in experiments while we watch mice, then we see how human beings react in seemingly analogous ways. Sometimes to drive the point out human dramas are played out by humans wearing mice-head masks.
At the same time, the dramas in the characters lives are juxtaposed with brief film clips. This puzzled me for most of the movie until I realized it was a way of comparing how people see their own actions - as big, dramatic moments full of fury and passion and despair - with how Laborit sees them.
Resnais' films are all, from what I've seen, intellectual and experimental. But some, like Hiroshima Mon Amour, are also dramatically and emotionally compelling. In the case of Mon Oncle d'Amerique I never felt a strong connection to its characters. Take away the Laborit framework and you've got a pretty conventional slice of lives movie.
Resnais is always interesting but not always enjoyable. This movie is, for me, fairly interesting and mildly enjoyable. It's worth watching, but not something I would watch again.