Alice and Martin

Once a critic for Cahiers Du Cinéma, André Téchiné wakes generally high expectations from movie viewers, but he not always satisfied them. The interest for melodrama that distinguishes him from nouvelle vague predecessors returns in Alice and Martin which is not free from the thematic of dysfunctional family of others of his films. In this case the results are more unconvincing. At the beginning and for a long time we don't know what happens, and when we know, it does not matter enough. The disproportion between the elliptical and not few scenes of unnecessary diffuse dialogue does not contribute to go deep into the drama. Secondary characters like the tyrannical father, the mother, and the stepmother of the protagonist are delineated in the style of the stereotyped Spanish telenovela. The nicely photographed landscapes (a mark in Téchiné's pictures) add to the pleasure of the viewer but not fulfill the holes in the screenplay. The story, excessively charged with family quarrels, suicide, involuntary crime, tempestuous love, professional aspirations, madness, atonement, and final redemption, can't easily catch the spectator. Adam Gai

Martin, age 20, runs away from his rural French home under mysterious circumstances and ends up at his half-brother's flat in Paris, where he meets and falls in love with the half-brother's female roommate Alice, age somewhat older. When Alice informs him, halfway through the film, that she is pregnant, he has a flashback (which we don't see for a while yet) of what happened to make him flee his father's house, and for the rest of the film, while Martin languishes in a psychiatric facility, Alice must resolve the situation Martin created, a labor of love she doesn't hesitate to perform even though it involves the sacrifice of her own happiness.

The bad news: This is a long, slow movie, and the characters are not really as well-defined as they perhaps could have been, especially given the film's character-centered plot. The good news: It's really beautiful to watch, and when the end of the movie sneaks up on you, and you've given what you've seen a little while to sink in, it's so brilliantly sad that you just want to fly to Paris and find Alice and hug her or take her to dinner or something. Not a good choice for a first-date movie--rent the video and have a close friend over for wine and cheese.

I'm a big Binoche fan but could not have been more disappointed with this film. There is little or no justification given for the demonization of Martin's father and the flat, bland relationship between Alice & Martin leaves one wondering why they'd stay together in the first place. Sure, Techine wants us to think Martin's father was a harsh on his illegitimate son but there's little or no supporting evidence. Standing in the rain, big deal. Punishing him for pretending to be sick. Ho hum. This reminded me of Bresson's "The Devil, Probably" as I really didn't give a damn about any of the characters or why they were in such supposed anguish. Speaking of anguish, you would think Martin's mother would have felt a little remorse about the consequences of her fateful decision (after all, Martin was happy w/ her and didn't want to go) but she didn't seem care about him anyways. In the end, I didn't either.

With Techine directing Binoche you would expect something special, something emotionally involving, something...good. But, sadly, this movie is, for the most part, disappointing. First of all we don't truly care about the characters, Loret, who plays Martin, is wooden and distant, and the blossoming relationship between the two leads is unconvincing. Binoche is on top form, a beauty to behold, but every time she's off the screen the film nosedives. Perhaps Alice's past should have been explored too. The psychological leash Victor has on Martin isn't tight enough to convincingly escalate into patricide. However, it isn't all bad. The cinematography is beautiful, in particular, when Martin opens his window, as a child, and is greeted by the snow falling. Golden Spain too. Alice Et Martin isn't diabolical, but with the talent involved, you would expect so much more. 6/10

Although the performances were good, this movie is quite frustrating. While a non-linear narrative can be effective and compelling, the disjointed plot or lack of one leaves the viewer bored and confused. The story line is further strained by the lack of development of much of Alice's and Martin's characters. For instance, one can't understand why Martin's father was such a brute or why Alice would choose to stay with Martin. It's a shame because this movie could have been a lot better.