Prof. Henri Laborit (played by himself) uses the stories of the lives of three people to discuss behaviorist theories of survival, combat, rewards and punishment, and anxiety. Rene (Gerard Depardieu) is a technical manager at a textile factory and must face the anxiety caused by corporate downsizing. Janine (Nicole Garcia) is a self-educated actress/stylist who learns that the wife of her lover is dying and must decide to let them reunite. Jean (Roger-Pierre) is a controversial career-climbing writer/politician at a crossroads in life. (IMDb)




Following a pair of films (Stavisky, Providence) that were more conventionally narrative than his explosively experimental early works (Hiroshima, Mon Amour, Last Year at Marienbad), French New Wave pioneer director Alain Resnais began a cycle of films beginning in 1980 (all written by Jean Gruault) that delved deeply into his philosophical and aesthetic concerns again. (--Tom Keogh amazon.com)




The first of these was Mon Oncle d'Amerique, starring Gérard Depardieu as one of three middle-class characters undergoing great degrees of personal stress. Presented as a docudrama of sorts with some pulp-fiction qualities, these parallel tales don't really resolve themselves within their own borders but gain another dimension of subjective resolution when Resnais ushers in a real-life scientist to discuss certain kinds of behavioral triggers in humans. (--Tom Keogh amazon.com)




The results are actually very satisfying and witty for viewers who can see the overt psychological elements not as a smug commentary on the action but a means of opening the action to a viewer's subconscious experience. Resnais takes the bold step of creating a new kind of filmed story here, and largely succeeds. (--Tom Keogh amazon.com)




The first half hour of the film introduces its three main characters--Jean (Roger Pierre) Rene (Gerard Depardieu) and Janine (Nicole Garcia). They have wildly different upbringings and values, and are immeasurably influenced by film stars they watched as children. All three characters have the shadowy figure of a legendary American uncle in their past, whose long-forgotten adventures are shrouded in rumours of disaster and success. Jean is one of the privileged upper classes and brought up with a respect for education and property. He is also a consummate politician who loathes to disturb the status quo. Rene is the son of a peasant farmer, and he's raised in a catholic household, taught to obey, and his father abhors education. Rene's peasant childhood never leaves him. Firmly ensconced in the hierarchy of factory life, he is all too well aware that he is fully expendable. Janine, on the other hand, is raised as a militant communist, attending rallies, and questioning authority figures, and because she's much more used to conflict, she successfully reinvents herself twice throughout the course of the film. (amazon.com)




Professor Henri Laborit is one of the geniuses of the previous century. And Alain Resnais directed a movie faithful to the scientist's work. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0081176/usercomments)




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. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0081176/usercomments)




The film is structured like a text book. First the professor lectures and then examples illustrating the lecture follow. It takes the 4 basic human drives and develops a plethora of behaviours from them. Here lies the wonder of the film. Examples that would be boring in a test book are brought to life with amazing skill and artfulness by Resnais, and the actors. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0081176/usercomments)