Wild Grass (2009). Photofest.
(Les herbes folles, Alain Resnais, France/Italy 2009, 104 min., 35mm, French w/subtitles)
Filmmaking at 80. Nearly ninety when this film was released, Resnais took on a challenge he had not faced before: adapting a novel to the screen. He obtained Christian Gailly’s permission to adapt L’Incident into this strange and twisty mature love story. Marguerite is a dentist and a flying hobbyist, who has her purse stolen while trying to find the right-sized shoe. Her wallet is found by Georges, restless in his middle-aged marriage, who is intrigued by Marguerite’s picture. Debating whether to return the wallet or turn it in to the police, Georges finally meets Marguerite, but the tact and protocol of appreciation elude him, despite being drawn to her. Resnais’s use of color highlights this story of chance meetings.