Alice et Martin (Alice and Martin) (1998)

60% of critics liked it
(43 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(500 ratings)

In this romantic French drama, auteur Andre Techine offers an intense, intimate look inside the complex relationship between two emotionally dysfunctional people. Neither Alice (Juliette Binoche) nor Martin (Alexis Loret) seem emotionally healthy enough to sustain a relationship, but somehow they… More In this romantic French drama, auteur Andre Techine offers an intense, intimate look inside the complex relationship between two emotionally dysfunctional people. Neither Alice (Juliette Binoche) nor Martin (Alexis Loret) seem emotionally healthy enough to sustain a relationship, but somehow they manage to stay together amidst their many personal problems. The two met in Paris, where Martin fled after escaping the oppression of his recently deceased tyrannical father. Once in the City of Light, the depressed Martin attempts suicide and later accepts an offer to stay with his half-brother Benjamin (Mathieu Amalric) and his roommate Alice, a violinist, in their ramshackle garret. Shortly thereafter, Martin is spotted by a modeling agent and finds steady work on the city's catwalks. At first, Martin and Alice do not get along. He is brutish and incapable of expressing emotion. He pursues her, but Alice is not terribly interested, until her sexual frustration and need to be loved gets the better of her, and she succumbs to his advances. She then decides to leave Benjamin and travel with Martin to a modelling assignment in Granada, Spain. There the two are briefly happy, but as time passes, Martin's self-absorption increases. Alice's announcement that she is pregnant precipitates a crisis in which Martin reveals that he caused his father's death. Unable to bear the guilt and pain any longer, he commits himself to a mental institution and then requests he be given his day in court. Alice is convinced that Martin is innocent of the crime with which he has charged himself. When he insists on going to court, she goes there to save him from himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 10 min.
Directed By: Andre Techine
Written By: Olivier Assayas, Gilles Taurand, Andre Techine
Genres: Drama, Romance, Art House & International

In Theaters: Jul 21, 2000 Limited
On DVD: Jan 23, 2001
Studio: USA Films

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Holland, Variety
An involving love story between two emotionally damaged outsiders.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The sheer neurotic intensity of Techine's characters -- characteristically stretching both backward and forward in time, as in a Faulkner novel--holds one throughout, as does Techine's masterful direction and many of the other performances.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Alice and Martin is not to be missed, particularly in this endless lull of summer.
Louis B. Parks, Houston Chronicle
Techine keeps a tight rein on his actors' dramatics.
Charles Taylor, Salon.com
Alice et Martin has its faults, but there's some real meat here, in the performances and direction.
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
Despite some glorious passages, Alice and Martin is play-act passion.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Binoche and newcomer Loret give committed performances, but Alice and Martin's romance is never completely convincing.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
This staid, somber film is heartening proof that what doesn't kill us might indeed make us stronger.
, Film4
Andre Téchiné extracts superb performances and finds drama in the everyday moments of human interaction.
Bruce Feld, Film Journal International
An excellent cast goes far to redeem >Alice and Martin.
Wally Hammond, Time Out
For all the increasing sophistication of Téchiné's technique, the emotions he deals with are basic, and all the more powerful for it.
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com
Binoche's character is sketchily drawn. Although she gives an admirable, unshowy performance, her role is underwritten, with the script frequently using her as the engine that propels the plot.
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
The movie is long, but doesn't feel that way, and despite a dearth of interesting visuals after the first 20 minutes, it makes for a welcome change of pace from Hollywood
Gary Mairs, culturevulture.net
Its mystery resonates long after the film ends.
Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
Falls just shy of greatness.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
Director André Téchiné here eschews that French lightness and opts instead for what is apparently supposed to pass for psychological profundity.
Michael Szymanski, Zap2it.com
This long-winded, uninteresting, uninvolving and tedious French pic is another example of a filmmaker (Andre Techine) who's too involved with one of his cast members