At first glance, Wild Grass may appear frivolous compared to 1959's Hiroshima mon amour or landmark documentary, Night and Fog, but Resnais has displayed great variety of storytelling throughout his expansive career and proven over and over again that not all of his films need be as experimental or as serious as Last Year at Marienbad. (Have you watched his fun period musical Not on the Lips?) Based on Christian Gailly's novel, The Incident, from a faithful screenplay by Laurent Herbiet and Alex Reval, Wild Grass treats its fascinating, complex, adult characters with warmth, respect and also intelligence. Still, there's no denying the great humor throughout the film.

Resnais continues to work with a regular team of actors and their intimate knowledge of what works best for one another shows throughout the film. André Dussollier puts his magnificent, velvety voice to great use as the somewhat mysterious André. Mathieu Amalric provides some of the film's funniest scenes as an annoying police officer. The best performance belongs to Sabine Azéma (Resnais' real-life companion) who brings the lovely Marguerite to life.

Digital photography from cameraman Eric Gautier brings the film a modern look, and production designer Jacques Saulnier makes striking use of bold color in many of the film's scenes. More importantly, Resnais' storytelling is in top form. Turning 88 this June, he's an inspiration to us all.

Excerpt from Box Office Magazine located HERE