Mon oncle d'Amérique

Henri Laborit finishes with these words (if I remember correctly) - no spoiler really - :As long as we do not understand, that (today) we use our cortex predominantly in order to dominate other people, then nothing can change (for the better).

I myself coined the phrase: If I had power like Hitler, then I would be Hitler.

The point made here is not that I'm Hitler or want to be as little as it is Henri Laborit's point that it is allright for us to continue to use our brain as dominator over others. The point is, that if we get accustomed to power, then all we do turns out bad, in spite of 'good' intentions.

There is no 'good' power. That's the simple truth. To claim so is as ridiculous as to say that there is 'good' evil or totally erase the borders between good and evil and wind up in total confusion like Bob Dylan sings about in his songs 'Ring Them Bells' (They're breaking down the distance between right and wrong) and 'The Disease of Conceit'.

In attempts to dominate his surroundings, man is driven to madness and suicide. The film demonstrate this and Laborit compares rat behavior with human behavior when human lives are ridiculed by this animal quest for power instead of being allowed a quest that would be truly human (in the good sence of the word): the quest of the total destruction of all power and dominance in order to create a truly human society of decency and brotherhood.

We possess a refined and beautiful cortex - why not use it for its proper purpose?, is the conclusion we find ourselves in after having seen the movie (well, not all of us).

What an odd way to start a film. We seem to be hearing a lecture about the brain, and human development, interspersed with introductions of several characters who don't seem to have much in common. But then Resnais starts working his magic, intertwining the stories of three people with the behavioral theories of Henri Laborit. Human behavior is compared to the behavior of lab rats, and even turtles and wild boars, and each new idea is illustrated in the lives of the main characters. And as an interesting third layer, each character has an "avatar" from classic French cinema; clips from their films are interspersed to comment on the action.

Too bizarre, you think? I thought so at first, but after awhile I was hooked. Fine performances, beautiful cinematography, and a captivating, multi-layered script makes this film an unforgettable experience.

This film was made with the cooperation of psychologist Henri Laborit. It's broken down, like a greek drama, into narrative episodes and odes where the chorus, in this case psychologist Laborit, explains the meaning of the episodes. I love this movie because it makes clear the pretenance to everyday life of a discourse which is very rich as an interpretation of life, in exactly Matthew Arnold's sense, but at the same time so abstract that most people just, for example, reading Laborit's "Decoding the human message" would not see the immediate relevance of what was being said to their own daily concerns. I use this film to teach psychology. I open my intro class with it every term. Learning to read this film is learning to think like a psychologist. In the film, we cut from scenes of the human characters involved in various relationships to Laborit showing how lab rats react to stress under various conditions. The result is not dry or pedantic but funny as hell. It comes off as the rats doing a low burlesque of the human comedy. We also see the characters as children and as adults and scenes from various formative episodes along the way. When Laborit says "a person is a memory which acts" it seems a powerful commentary on what we are seeing on screen. We see one character as a tiny girl interacting with her factory worker father. He is a communist and he is teaching his newly articualte baby girl to repeat after him "USA go home". Watching this, I remember being taught to sing "Jeusus loves me" shortly after I started talking. This film is funny and wonderful dealing with the thing which matters most of all, the question of what it means to be a person.

This film will only appeal to two types of people 1. Resnais die-hard fans (including me) and intellectuals. This film is extremely odd and infuriating if your an average cinema goer. The film is a cinematic science lesson. But it is absolutley amazing. Resnais uses documentary techniques and surrealism and a narrator (a world renowned expert on human behaviour) who discusses the characters through out the film. It follows three people who are all loosely connected. What makes the film so superb is the fact that it is am intellectual avante garde arthouse film, that instead of isolating the viewer like they usually do. Resnais creates a wonderfully warm film. You end up really liking the characters. Who grow up before your eyes over the years. Resnais doesn't put a foot wrong.Gerard Depiedieu is great as the frustrated office worker who struggles raising a family and hassles at work.

ten out of ten

Professor Henri Laborit is one of the geniuses of the previous century. And Alain Resnais directed a movie faithful to the scientist's work.

We could say about Mon oncle d'Amérique that it's a totally original film. It's impossible to compare it to any of the other movies in the history.

This piece of art shows in a very elegant and clever way how we human beings behave. It's as brilliant as deeply moving.

Definitely a must-see that reminds us why we used to admire Gérard Depardieu. The use of the archive footage of Danielle Darrieux, Jean Gabin, and Jean Marais are very touching in the middle of a movie that seems to be cold and demonstrative but that is not.

Watch this masterpiece ASAP. You'll never regret it.