Alain Resnais: A Decade in Film [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This is probably one of the best box sets of its kind. While not among Resnais's most beautiful or effective films, these selections represent a very interesting period in his career. During the eighties he seems to be formulating a more mature and consistent aesthetic, while remaining fully engaged in experimentation. The results are often innovative if not completely successful, and make for some extremely eccentric films. I was fascinated and charmed.

La vie est un roman is the most baroque and utterly strange of the four. It consists of three separate stories that unfold in alternating scenes: one in the 19th century, one in contemporary reality, and the third in a childish fantasy world. Although not a musical in strict terms, the characters (including a chorus) occasionally stumble into a song or a few bars of music. It's pretty much safe to say you've never seen anything like it.

L'amour a mort is also a kind of musical, although without singing. The whole film unfolds in fairly short scenes separated by musical interludes of various lengths. This formal device reminds me of Muriel (especially since Hans Werner Henze wrote the music for both films), except that here it is self conscious and entirely uncompromising in its presentation of a non-traditional narrative form. This film is not very engaging, but is an interesting and unusual viewing experience.

Melo is a pretty straightforward adaptation of a play. Straightforward in that it has a very simple elegant approach, and its aesthetic of bareness (there is no musical underscoring and very little sound besides the characters' voices) creates a sense of theatricality. It's interesting to see how this theatricality blends at times into certain cinematic moments. At first glance this is nothing all that remarkable, but it certainly deserves respect as a shapely melodrama (sans music).

I Want to Go Home is funny and weird. Most reviews of this film complain that the main characters are irritating. This is true, in fact much of the film is so irritating that it's difficult to watch. The film is written by cartoonist Jules Feiffer, and as Resnais probably intended, it feels basically like a live action cartoon. The characters are loud and annoying stereotypes and many of the situations are crude and sometimes insulting. However, I felt that the characters were eventually redeemed, and there is enough bizarre and inspired humor to warrant multiple viewings.

The presentation is pretty excellent, as far as I could tell. Kino seems to have stopped doing awful transers in their attempt to be more like Criterion, and these look quite good. The special features include some interviews with a producer and an actor, and a short documentary. I would have liked more, but I imagine there isn't much material related to these particular films. The packaging is ideal.

Sorry this was so long, but it is a box set...you should buy it, especially if you like Resnais.