Screenhead

I’m not sure how many films he has left in him, but French filmmaker Alain Resnais made his most recent film, just released on DVD, last year at age 84. Like several of his more recent films, this one is based on a stage play, in this case by Alan Ayckbourn. There are times throughout the film that one can sense the theatrical origins, yet Resnais is capable still of stylish turns, substituting falling snow for a falling curtain.

Using what has become his usual group of actors, the film is an examination of the contradictory impulses on people, especially the simultaneous need to connect with others, yet also to be alone. For those more familiar with Resnais’ earlier films, Private Fear in Public Place may seems rather conventional. Unlike a film like Last Year at Marienbad which played with shifts of time and memory, Resnais has made a film that is more easily accessible. The film follows six main characters who are unknowingly connected to each other, who all find establishing romantic relationships difficult, preferring the comfort of the private self to the vulnerability revealing themselves.

It has been over twenty-five years since Alain Resnais’ films have gotten decent distribution in the United States. Not all of his films are available on DVD. One of the actors, heard, but not seen in Private Fears in Public Places, as a cranky old man, is Claude Rich. Rich starred in Resnais’ 1968 film, Je T’Aime, Je T’Aime which is still unavailable on disc or tape. Hopefully this film will get a much needed DVD release, if only to put The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in perspective. How cool is Alain Resnais? Let me put it this way, back before the fanboys were born, Alain Resnais tried to film a dream project, The Monster Maker with a screenplay by Stan Lee.

I admittedly prefer Alain Resnais’ films from the Sixties. But even with this no frills DVD from The Weinstein Company, it’s still nice to know that Alain Resnais is still around, making films his own way.

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