MA©lo (1986)

Alain Resnais, the legendary, daring, and acclaimed director of Night and Fog, Hiroshima, Mon Amour and Last Year at Marienbad, adds an offbeat entry into his stunning oeuvre with Mélo, a loose adaptation of Henri Bernstein s celebrated 1929 play. Resnais s first solo credit for screenplay in almost 40 years, Mélo tells the story of Marcel (Andre Dussollier) and Pierre (Pierre Arditi), two lifelong friends who are also concert violinists. While Marcel has gone on to stardom, Pierre has settled into a contented family life with his beautiful wife Romaine (Sabine Azema - A Sunday in the Country). But all is not perfect; Pierre is unaware that Romaine is having an affair with Marcel. For Mélo, Azema won the Cesar (France s Academy Award) as Best Actress, playing a woman so consumed by guilt, she eventually takes deadly measures to end her infidelity. Also featured in the film is renowned French actress Fanny Ardant (8 Women, The Woman Next Door). Product Description

Excellent

Alain Renais' brilliant reworking of a melodramatic 1920's play is a highly creative act of directorial experimentation. Taking a largely vacuous story of a love triangle between a concert violinist and his friend's wife, Renais is able to transcend the limitations of his material through the brilliance of the performances and the exquisite mise en scene. This is a true masterpiece of form, and a genuine testament to the filmmaker's considerable talent. July 8, 2008

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