My American Uncle

Directed by Alain Resnais and released in 1980, the French drama Mon oncle d'Amérique (My American Uncle) weaves together the intersecting lives of three strangers with the behavioral theories of surgeon and neurobiologist Henri Laborit. Written by Jean Gruault, the film follows factory manager René (Gérard Depardieu), actress Janine (Nicole Garcia), and politician Jean (Roger Pierre), whose paths cross in unexpected ways. Their stories are examined through Laborit's argument that humans and laboratory rats display the same social behaviors when facing survival, struggle, reward, and punishment. Blending fiction with scientific commentary, the film builds an unusual narrative that tests whether the professor's ideas hold true in everyday life. It won the Grand Prix at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.