This one's surely among the strangest efforts to be made by an internationally-acclaimed film-maker; incidentally, even if Resnais was never credited with the writing of his films, the fact that they all deal – indeed, play – with concepts of time and space (to say nothing of the conventions of cinema itself), makes him a veritable auteur. The film marks the director's first – and, so far, only – English-speaking work (but which may well have presaged the path that Resnais' subsequent career would take, where in later years, it would be all but overtaken by adaptations of English stage plays!); the script here was written by David Mercer (best-known for Karel Reisz' surreal 'Swinging London' comedy MORGAN: A SUITABLE CASE FOR TREATMENT [1966]) and features an eclectic powerhouse cast led by Brits Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud and David Warner (Morgan himself!), and Americans Ellen Burstyn and Elaine Stritch.The narrative revolves around dying novelist Gielgud who reflects on his life and family; so far, so good – but it's set against a backdrop of military action that's closing in on the titular country-house where he resides (the name of the location itself is never mentioned). Besides, events depicted during the first half emerge to have been mere fantasy on Gielgud's part (he imposes his thoughts on people and even wills them in specific places to their own amazement!). In fact, we first see Bogarde prosecuting private Warner for the murder of an old man (whom the latter says had asked to be killed because he was turning into a werewolf – at one point, Warner himself sports extensive facial hair!); Burstyn, Bogarde's resentful wife, then takes the acquitted Warner as her lover – and her husband subsequently suffers the recurring presence of the private's "famous footballer" brother (who beats up the eminent lawyer when confronted by him!); also, Bogarde's ageing mistress (Stritch) turns out to be a dead-ringer for his own mother who committed suicide… Mercer's ambitious and clever script is uneven, however: offering, on the one hand, literate – and frequently bitchy – dialogue that would seem like an actor's dream, but also lapsing into gratuitously repellent detail on occasion (such as Gielgud taking a suppository and, later, shown using the lavatory – his particular illness, in fact, is treated in quite rigorous fashion! – or the pointless flashes to the autopsy being performed on the 'wolfman'). Unfortunately, the film peters out during the straightforward last act in which Gielgud is visited by his family (where it's also revealed that Bogarde and Warner are actually brothers!) for an open-air dinner – they squabble some more and, finally, Gielgud asks to be left alone.Apart from the cast, two other major trump cards the film has up its sleeve are Ricardo Aronovich's exquisite cinematography and Miklos Rozsa's typically lush score (which fits the movie surprisingly well). Moreover, PROVIDENCE swept the board at that year's Cesar Awards (the French equivalent to the Oscar) and, all in all, in spite of its faults and not inconsiderable length, the film is too weird (and stylish) to be ignored – not to mention, funny enough to be enjoyed by adventurous viewers.

Old, severely ill with with a piece of writers block and another piece of insomnia, John Gielgods protagonist one night, dreams up broken pieces of a story based in his own subconscious and emotional relationships to his family and friends.And this night, racked with the pains of his illness and his guilt over a life spent living, it all combines into a claustrophobical nightmare. Or is it the truth ? Resnais in this film presents us with with a very human condition; the possibility that we all construct the story of our lives to a larger extent, from pieces of the subconscious that we re not aware of or aren't just fit to handle objectively.Beautifully shot, with John Gielgod as a master actor, supported by Dirk Bogarde and others, this movie was, I think, my first Resnais movie; it sticks with me in the passionate way of straight emotions like love hate or whatever you desire, combined with the small faults that makes us all human; unable not to come back to again and again.It ends beautifully with a kind of a promise about the human soul.

In Providence, his only film in English Language, Resnais again approaches the most recurrent subject in his career: the memory. Here, he explores how one's feelings can affect it: the life of the writer reflects directly on his view of his son and the wife of this one, and their respective (supposed) lovers, which actually are a representation of the writer's alienation, guilt and self-depreciation. It shows how memory can be more painful than any pain of the flesh, and even worse than reality itself. Like everything i've seen from Resnais so far (Night and Fog, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Mon Oncle D'Amérique and one of my favorite films, Last Year in Marienbad), this one is a very deep and original masterpiece.

This is one of the strangest movies I know. French intellectual aesthete meets contemporary British playwright - this should be the title of Providence. When two completely different cultures meet for a common project, the risk of failure is enormous. But in this case something interestingly and uniquely hilarious was created. Providence is a feverish dream that was successfully created for the screen.The dream sequences of an old, dying writer, played by John Gielgud are absurd in a very British way. John Gielguds's upper class "king's English" voice-over adds effectively to its strangeness. As usual in contemporary British plays, sex and bowel movements are of the utmost importance . no, the script as a whole is neither very original nor particularly funny. I liked the incongruous, illogical situations though. Every now and then, in the most impossible situations, a strange, sickly looking football player (he seems to have fallen off Monty Python's Flying Circus) jogs limply past.Director Alain Resnais is responsible for the dreamscapes, and they make Providence worth watching. Real settings are artfully distorted into haunting, surreal spatial sequences. Foreground and background, light and darkness, different textures and beautiful color arrangements are expertly arranged into a world of its own that is never too far from reality. One is sometimes reminded of Magritte's surrealistic paintings. Strange sounds add to the almost psychedelic effect the dream scenes have.The acting is remarkable, especially Dirk Bogarde as the writer's slick, cynical «dream son» gives an outstanding performance.