For maybe 10 minutes or so, Providence is as confusing as any of Alain Resnais' films. But once you understand what's happening, it's a surprisingly understandable. Weird, yes, but not "I'm so confused weird." Just, "wow, that's pretty wacky stuff."
In fact, for all the crazy events and strange relationships, Resnais seems set on not confusing his audience too much, even including a last section that makes everything explicit. Which I quite liked.
While this is Resnais at his more explicable, it still has the experimental coldness of most of his work. I enjoyed it as an intellectual exercise and found it entertaining, but I wasn't drawn into the story, such as it was, and I didn't connect with the characters.
Still, overall this is one of Resnais' more enjoyable movies.
In fact, for all the crazy events and strange relationships, Resnais seems set on not confusing his audience too much, even including a last section that makes everything explicit. Which I quite liked.
While this is Resnais at his more explicable, it still has the experimental coldness of most of his work. I enjoyed it as an intellectual exercise and found it entertaining, but I wasn't drawn into the story, such as it was, and I didn't connect with the characters.
Still, overall this is one of Resnais' more enjoyable movies.