Mélo

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Movie Info

Director Alain Resnais faithfully adapted his script for Melo from a 1929 play by Henry Bernstein--the first time that Resnais handled his own screenplay. Violinists and lifelong friends Pierre Arditi and Andre Dussolier have each found happiness in adulthood, but only Dussolier has become famous. Ardati leads a contented life with his wife, Sabine Azema, little suspecting that she is enamored of Dussolier. An abortive plan to murder her husband leads to Azema's suicide, but Ardati remains blissfully unaware of her infidelities. When the truth is revealed to Ardati, Dussolier honors the memory of Azema by insisting that no illicit romance ever occurred. One of the more "linear" of Resnais' works, Melo, filmed in 1986, was given a general American release three years later.

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Drama, Romance
Directed By:

Alain Resnais
Written By:

Alain Resnais
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 1986 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Feb 19, 2008
Runtime:

110 minutes
Studio:

CNC

Cast

Pierre Arditi
as Pierre Belcroix

Sabine Azéma
as Romaine Belcroix

André Dussollier
as Marcel Blanc

Fanny Ardant
as Christiane Levesque

Jacques Dacqmine
as Dr. Remy

Hubert Gignoux
as Priest

Catherine Arditi
as Yvonne

View All

Critic Reviews for Mélo

All Critics (5) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (1)

Resnais invests the original meaning of "melodrama" (drama with music) with exceptional beauty and power, cutting and moving his camera with impeccable dramatic logic to give their performances maximum voltage.

April 24, 2014 | Full Review…

Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
A beautifully acted and astutely observed romantic drama.

April 4, 2019 | Full Review…

Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
What's miraculous about Mlo is that the material never grows hysterical and feels blocked in or trapped by the stage.

March 6, 2008 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
s he grew older, Alain Resnais revealed the wistful sentimentalist behind the formalist pathfinder of Hiroshima Mon Amour and Muriel.

February 20, 2008 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Fernando F. Croce
Slant Magazine
It dishes out dollops of pain from among the Brahms' sonatas, and melodramatics that were dated long ago.

January 30, 2008 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

View All Critic Reviews (5)

Audience Reviews for Mélo

Oct 16, 2008

[font=Century Gothic]When I saw Alain Resnais' latest film, "Private Fears in Public Places" last year, I remarked that its theatricality was an aberration. After seeing his 1986 film "Melo" last night, I stand corrected. Its very staginess cannot be disguised by any amount of camera movement. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Melo" is a banal melodrama set in Paris in the 1920's. Romaine(Sabine Azema) and Pierre(Pierre Arditi) are a happily married couple whose bliss is only marred by their childlessness. They are joined one evening for dinner by an old friend, Marcel(Andre Dussollier). By the time he departs, he extends an open invitation to the couple to come by and visit him to hear him play the violin. In the next scene, it is Romaine who has done so alone, initiating an affair with Marcel.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]By the way, Marcel is something of a hypocrite, having terminated a serious relationship in the past because he jealously felt his lover was lying to him. Now, he betrays a close friend in an adulterous affair with his wife, which is by its very nature rooted in lies. [/font]

Walter M Super Reviewer