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Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
- Alain Resnais Films
- French Films
- Genevieve Bujold Films
- Mistaken and Hidden Identities
- Revolutionaries
- Yves Montand Films
Review:
Alain Resnais followed up his first three art-crowd favorites — Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), Last Year at Marienbad (1961) and Muriel (1963) — with this more accessible but still heady film about an aging revolutionary confronting the potentially interminable nature of his work. In my write-up, I’ll cite DVD Savant’s review, in which he explains his own appreciation for the film:
Although its style is definitely that of Alain Resnais, La guerre est finie‘s subject is not an abstraction, but a real man’s revolutionary politics. Although some people will be frustrated, it has a compelling story, big stars, romance and intrigue that seems far more ‘real’ than similar mainstream movies.
He adds:
La guerre est finie is a remarkable film, beautifully photographed and acted, and probably a lot more accessible to American audiences now that storytelling styles have caught up with the avante garde of 1966. Resnais uses flash-forwards and stream-of-consciousness associative editing that can become quite confusing. But unlike some of his earlier successes that seemed to exist on a mental plane outside of time, Guerre is for the most part quite linear.
Yes — refreshingly so! Having fairly recently watched Resnais’ first three films, this one is remarkably easy to follow and relate to — a good thing, given the intense subject matter. We are watching a man who has literally given his life to a cause yet must still live on edge (he could be detained at any moment), is unable to settle down without feeling a sense of resignation, and has to track numerous running threads of false personal narratives at any given point.
On the aftermath of revisiting The Battle of Algiers, seeing what the long-game might look like for someone this committed to revolution was especially poignant; as DVD Savant writes, “Montand, playing a Spaniard who passes for French, is a soulful soldier whose war was lost long before he began to fight. The tension of being an outlaw to the state shows on his tired face.”
Film fanatics will likely enjoying seeing an impossibly young, faux-cherubic Geneviève Bujold in her very first cinematic role:
… and Ingrid Bergman-favorite Ingrid Thulin in a non-Scandinavian film.
Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:
- Yves Montand as “Diego Mora”
- Sacha Vierny’s cinematography
Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.
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