As far as being definitive of an entire generation of French filmmakers, you would struggle to find someone more adept at his craft than Alain Resnais, whose work spans over half a century, and saw the esteemed director producing a number of artistically-resonant, deeply provocative works that are both insightful and cutting edge, making him one of the formative members of the French New Wave. There are certainly some purists who claim that he existed more on the outskirts of the movement, which is not an entirely inappropriate assertion, especially since his work reflects a very different kind of stylistic sensibility, as well as telling stories that didn’t quite fit into the confines that we often find as defining of this era. Everyone has differing opinions on what his best film is, but one of the more common contenders for the title of his crowning achievement is My American Uncle (French: Mon oncle d’Amérique), his deeply compelling examination of the human condition. Taking his cue from famed scientist and social philosopher Henri Laborit, who serves as the de facto narrator of the film (the film is constructed around a series of lengthy lectures that he delivered after filming), the film examines the lives of three individuals navigating the tumultuous 1970s in different parts of France, ranging from the pastoral seaside to the bustling streets of Paris, and how their lives intersect at different points, often in surprising and enthralling ways. A fascinating continuation of several themes present in some of his earlier films, primarily Providence, the film finds Resnais doing some of his most complex work, telling a detailed and expansive story that stretches across decades, and shatters the boundaries between fact and fiction, My American Uncle is a truly unique film, and the perfect encapsulation of everything that made Resnais such a captivating and unique director, in terms of both style and substance, both of which he masters with very little difficulty, consolidating his place as one of the most impactful and ingenious directors of his generation, a fact that was never called into question.

To understand the depth of My American Uncle, we have to take the journey as prescribed to us by the three individuals who work together to create the foundation of the story. The film is based around the teachings of Laborit, who appears throughout the film (and is heard even more regularly than he is seen), with screenwriter Jean Gruault (who had worked with several important figures in the French New Wave) using his ideas as the foundation for the screenplay, interspersing the narrative in between fragments of his lectures, which creates a distinct and quite fascinating blend of reality and fiction, which is then beautifully tied together by Resnais, who reconfigures these ideas into an engaging and poignant examination of these overarching themes. The triangulation of these differing but still quite compatible artistic perspectives, which are drawn from innumerable sources of culture (as is often the term used to describe postmodernism as a literary and philosophical movement, which is quite a common thread throughout Resnais’ work) adds up to a critically compelling and undeniably intelligent perspective, which is all cobbled together by a director who knew the value of experimenting, granted it was within logical limits. Society is one of the most important subjects here, and the film weaves together the stories of three individuals that start as entirely separate, only to find their lives overlapping – from a narrative perspective, this seemed like a logical approach, but from a philosophical standpoint, there is a lot more complexity in taking this approach, especially about the clear philosophical quandaries being asserted by the writers and the director, who combine their radically different worldviews to create a jumble of eccentric and profound philosophical conversations, all of which work together in perfect synchronicity as the film progresses, exposing the deeper and more intriguing details that lurk just beneath the surface, evoked through the outlandish but spirited approach to the material and its underlying themes.

Anyone who has encountered one of Resnais’ previous films will undoubtedly recognize his distinctive style, which he puts to great use throughout My American Uncle, especially in the more ambitious moments. These films usually start as quite rigid and formally very cold and almost aloof, with an academic sensibility that can be quite bewildering to those who aren’t acclimated to his method of telling stories. However, these qualities are usually restricted to the expositionary moments, which are extremely important in setting the narrative foundation, but ultimately begin to abate as we reach the most interesting aspects of the narrative, which is usually relatively early in the film, enough to immediately take hold of our attention, granted we are willing to demonstrate the patience to get there. Once we look deeper, we find that My American Uncle is a wonderfully playful, eccentric film that navigates some very intimidating themes with tact and nuance, while still infusing nearly every scene with a gentle but distinctive humour that aids considerably in laying a foundation for the rest of the story, which benefits from a more lighthearted tone, albeit not one that actively ignores the more serious aspects of the plot. What was ultimately the aim of this film was to subvert conventions in a way that is mannered but revolutionary – humour is a powerful tool, and Resnais’ style is centred around challenging the limits of his art by developing an abstract style that involves techniques such as crossing the boundary between fact and fiction (which we should all be aware is a recurring theme throughout his work) and shattering the fourth wall, allowing the view to becoming active participants in his stories, which are daring and original, and built around the intention of uncovering secrets that lurk beneath social decorum, which results in an engaging and quite remarkably compelling comedy that is both funny and insightful, which is not always what we may necessarily expect from such a seemingly formal and melodramatic work, a perception that quickly abates as we become more familiar with the story and the masterful ideas embedded within.

The aspect that pushes this film along, outside of the broad philosophical concepts that catalyze the narrative, is the development of these characters. Considering that My American Uncle is essentially a film constructed around exploring human nature and various aspects of social structure, it was important that every character – whether central to the plot or merely incidental – was well-formed and carried some semblance of meaning. Resnais consistently paid careful attention to how he conveyed each character in his films, and whether casting them with the right actor or taking them in unexpected but captivating directions, there is something to be said for him being one of the most interesting filmmakers when it comes to focusing on the people at the heart of these stories. This film is driven by three actors in particular, namely Nicole Garcia, Roger Pierre and Gérard Depardieu, all of whom are doing exceptional work. The focus is shared between them roughly equally, and while they do play roles in each other’s stories (by the very nature of the interconnected style of the film), they are all individually constructed, formed by a vivid and compelling sense of originality brought to the characters by both the director, who was working from a solid set of ideas established by the screenplay, and the actors themselves, who are as vital in the development of the story as those who conceived of the plot, active participants in the creation of their bespoke characters. Depardieu is probably the closest the film has to a standout since his character has the most notable arc and is possibly the most sympathetic of the trio (he is certainly the most tragic character), but Garcia and Pierre hold their own and manage to convey the deep, meaningful emotions without ever getting caught up in the spectacle of the film, which could only work with performances that were natural and sincere, rather than playing into the jagged and eccentric tone.

Whether or not My American Uncle is Resnais’ finest work is a matter of interpretation, but what the director achieves here is certainly quite exceptional, even if it can be quite bewildering at some points, but in a way that is intentional and extremely entertaining, granted we can leap onto that distinctive wavelength that drives the narrative and makes it so extremely compelling in ways that are not always predictable. There are so many different themes and ideological concepts woven into the fabric of this film, being able to spot all of them, let alone discuss them all, is a daunting concept, and one that is perhaps entirely impossible. Yet, this was the point – My American Uncle is not a film of which the audience needs to develop a holistic and thorough understanding. Instead, it is one composed of over a dozen distinct concepts that relate to many different aspects of life, whether existential philosophy, sexuality, social structure or artistic expression (which are only a small sample of the ideas that Laborit introduces throughout the film), and we choose which aspects we are most interested in exploring, and follow those narrative threads as opposed to the others, which makes every individual viewing unique, since we are focused on different aspects, making each experience very personal to each person. It takes a lot of skill to create a philosophical choose-your-adventure narrative, but if anyone was going to achieve it with remarkable success, it would be Resnais, whose entire career was built on subversion and tinkering with artistic cues in a way that was always fascinating and nothing less than incredible. My American Uncle is a film with many different components, and it can sometimes feel overwhelming and dense – but once we can overcome those initial challenges with pace and get a grasp on the material, we soon find that this is an engaging and captivating film that has many different ideas, but mostly works as a fascinating celebration of the ambiguities of life, the one common thread that is found in between every individual narrative and philosophical concept that underpins this experimental, masterfully-constructed work.