La Cinémathèque Film Club: Great Directors Mini-Series

This Film Club mini-series is an homage to two of the greatest creative spirits in cinema.

The first director, Alain Resnais, was a French film director whose career extended over more than six decades. His films frequently explore the relationship between consciousness, memory, and the imagination, and he was noted for devising innovative formal structures for his narratives. Throughout his career, he won many awards from international film festivals and academies.

Schedule: SAT, JUL 23   
Great Director Alain Resnais 

11AM-12:30PM   |   Hiroshima My Love  (1959)
Alain Resnais’ debut feature still feels like a work of striking originality. Set in the city of Hiroshima, the film tells the story of a brief affair between a French actress and a Japanese architect, both of whom are haunted by events that took place years before during the war.

12:30-1:15PM   |   Break for Lunch

1:15-1:45PM   |   Discussion

1:45–3:30PM   |   My American Uncle (1980)
Professor Henri Laborit uses the stories of three people to discuss behaviorist theories of survival, combat, rewards, punishment, and anxiety. René is a technical manager at a textile factory and must face the anxiety caused by corporate downsizing. Janine is a self-educated actress/stylist who learns that the wife of her lover is dying and must decide to let them reunite. Jean is a controversial career-climbing writer/politician at a crossroads in life.

3:30–5PM   |   Compare the two films, the creative process of the director and his message.