On connait la chanson A review by Vincent Merlaud (1998)
Directed by Alain Resnais Written by Jean-Pierre Bacri and Agnes Jaoui With Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azema, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Andre Dussolier, Agnes Jaoui and Lambert Wilson
120 min, 1:1.66, color opened November 12 in France
Let's put it this way: Alain Resnais's latest experimentation opens with Wehrmacht officers discussing the fate of Paris. The year is 1944, and von Cholitz, officer in command at the time, explains why he will not destroy Paris. A little music is heard, and the character goes on singing with Josephine Baker's voice "J'ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris". Then it goes forwards to 1997, with Camille's gloved hand showing tourists in the Rue de Rivoli where the former scene took place.
It's known to everyone that ever since his first shorts with Chris. Marker, Alain Resnais has never got tired of movie-making experimentations, from the structural bizarreness of L'annee derniere a Marienbad to his precedent twin-films Smoking and No smoking, where duality of life was fully explored (it should be noticed that although Resnais seems open to any new idea in the film-making field, he has been working with the same technical crew and actors for an eternity). What surprised me on this occasion is how well received the film is in his own country, where audiences usually madly laughs whenever a character starts singing. On connait la chanson is however not a musical, which might explain these overwhelming reactions - this is so far Resnais' most profitable feature. In fact, dialogues are often interrupted with verses, if not whole choruses, from popular songs - I should accurately write chansons- taken in a wide scope including Charles Aznavour, France Gall and Dalida. They are sung by their original interpretes, while actors on the screen only articulate lyrics. Afterthe acclimatation of the first sung lines, this strange process stops being odd and one can get really convinced that for instance Alain Delon becomes Jean Pierre Bacri - a proof of this occurs later on with Jane Birkin, to whom it has been allowed to sing her own "Quoi" with her own voice.
Used by any other filmaker, this implied distanciation would probably kill any aspect of realism and turn the film into avant-garde drama. Thanks to a clever script and a fine dialogue, On connait la chanson is a major achievement. Most of the viewers will probably not consider the film's characters as total strangers, the sung lines actually building a kind of over- conversation revealing people's weakness and fears: far from being an optimistic work of art - as were Arthur Freed's musicals - On connait la chanson could indeed be regarded as the ultimate film about depression.
Apparently: Camille (A.J.), the guide from the first comtemporary scene, believes she'll be happy when her doctor-thesis is finished. She helps her sister Odile (S.A.) looking for a new appartement and fells in love with Marc (L.W.), from the real estate agency - she saw him crying and thinks he is a very sensitive man. Camille is secretely loved by Simon (A.D.), a radio- plays writer who often attends her guided-tours and annoys her. Odile still loves her husband Claude (P.A.) and saw his look-alike in a car kissing another woman. Nicolas (J.-P. B.) does not love anybody and is seen by Odile accompanied by numerous gorgeous women. Marc sells Odile a vast appartement with a view on Montmartre.
But these men and women are suffering much but ignore what from. Diseases, misunderstandings, lies contaminating lives. Claude lies to his wife - he does not love her anymore. Marc lied to his client: a new construction will hide the Sacre-Coeur. Simon lied to his beloved - he works for the real-estate agency too and Marc is his boss. Nicolas lies to himself: his londonian wife will not come back to him. False interpretation of facts : Odile refuses to believe her eyes when she caught her husband on the act with his mistress. Nicolas is a limousine-chauffeur and therefore drives rich and beautiful women. Marc had a cold and did not missed his ex-girlfriend. Marc is indeed very arrogant, and particulry rude towards his employee Simon. Camille, the youngest and the perhaps the most deceived of all, fell in love with the wrong man and falls in a deep depression as soon as her thesis is ended up. In the end, singing becomes a way of lying as well, but characters may finally not only be invaded by the same fatalism: what they have in common and sometimes sing together are indentical human feelings. Same old song that we all know. As for Mon oncle d'Amerique and La vie est un roman, On connait la chanson ends in a joyous mood, an uncertain form of melancoly.
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