Truly I don't think there has ever been a film put together like Jean Resnais' Mon oncle d'Amerique. The narration by a well-known scientist, the stories of three people, interspersed with film clips starring Danielle Darrieux, Jean Gabin, and Jean Marais. Go figure.Mon oncle d'Amerique begins slowly and one becomes impatient for something to happen. Stick with it.Psychologist Henri Laborit explains his theories, punctuated by the behavior of animals, as the stories of three people who are somewhat connected are told. And we see that the humans react in much the same way as the animals do in the various behavioral experiments.The story most people will be able to relate to most is the one featuring Gerard Depardieu, a man faced with the merger of his company and impending job loss.The film runs the gamut of high drama, humor, and tragedy. Most of the characters are likable and have a good deal of warmth. They are us, some of the situations are familiar, and the take on human behavior is fascinating. Even Jean Gabin, Jean Marais, and Danielle Darrieux get pulled into it - actors yes, but portraying human beings.

I gave this an 8 out of 10 because while I believe that the first half hour of the film is necessary to set the stage, it lost my wife who is ordinarily a die-hard Gerard Depardeu fan. When watching a film you've paid 8 bucks for, you don't have a choice. You feel a need to sit and watch and get your money's worth. But on DVD or on-demand, the lesser attention spanned may walk off before the film gets rolling.OK, that said, once it gets rolling it becomes a wonderfully astute, and touching film about our humanity. Gerard plays his usual lovable oaf and brings warmth and humanity to the film when the other characters, while sympathetic, are cold and "reptilian" to quote the narrator. Gerard's character made me ask whether a certain level of foolishness was necessary to keep us humble and honest.Finally, the film is very French and high culture to the point of being almost a parody of such films. It's a kind of dark comedy that's so subtle, that some people won't get it. I know my wife didn't.Finally, there are distributions available in wide screen and even HD that was magnificent. I'm sure it's still great on letterboxed but try to get the widescreen/HD version or upconverted.

I have just seen the film in my city's biggest cine club with just about all my cinema colleagues. When I bought the ticket I was handled a leaflet with comments of some critics and the very first sentence was "it questions what it is to be French" which obviously scared me. Although I much love the European country and do like many of its films, this is not a question I catch myself asking every now and then. It seemed like a Nouvelle Vague personal crisis of what am I, where I am at, and all that... and I have to say my opinion about the Nouvelle Vague is quite controversial to most of the cinema fans. When the film began, the explanation of the thesis the movies shows most willingness to prove, I all had was a confirmation and a damn-it-what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here sensation. However, I've payed for the ticket, I had slept for the whole afternoon and I didn't have money for extra beers outside the cinema, so I stubbornly decided to stay. And what a wise decision I have made! The plot goes on beautifully questioning everything (and I couldn't spot the French questions, thanks God). I actually saw questions about love and life - definitely not exclusive to the French. I saw characters that were designed with a precise care - not excessively harsh, nor excessively romantic. Real people with real problems and real solutions (for the good or for the bad). In a sensitive and reasonable balance, not in the hysterical way many movies end up going whilst pondering about such questions. I have to say I thought a zillion times on the last part of the movie that this was the time to stop, to finish. And the director kept on repeating scenes and talking about all his personal theories - which I think the viewer has the legitimate right to formulate. But it kept on going and kept on going like a brainwash. I, myself, and what I think is my intelligence, got a little offended. In the overall, I really enjoyed the film. And I am going to watch some other Resnais' work to see if his cutting skills had developed, don't worry.

On paper this isn't really my kind of movie by a country mile but I'm always ready to see anything that Depardieu decides to appear in and Nicole Garcia is not too hard to take either if anybody asks you but then you have to factor in Resnais, a loose canon whichever way you slice it, a guy who's as likely to film a Viennese Operetta with a static camera as lay a metaphysical treatise on an unsuspecting audience. He's also something of a risk-taker and here he does himself no favors in the opening minutes by giving the impression we've wandered into a lecture complete with lantern-slides. But soon you find yourself drawn into the three loosely connected stories and a little later you find you've surrendered completely to the left-handed charm. Not for the faint-hearted or the popcorn brigade. 8/10