Hôtel des Amériques (1981) - film review

One evening, whilst driving home, Hélène, an anaesthesiologist, almost runs down Gilles.  The two go for a coffee and soon discover they have a mutual attraction. Hélène is suffering from depression after having lost her lover a year ago, whilst Gilles is a no-hoper, who runs a cheap hotel with his mother.  Gilles is at first keen about his developing relationship with Hélène, but then backs off when he suspects that she could never really love someone less well off than her. However, Hélène is deeply in love with Gilles and is unable to let him go, even when he starts behaving irrationally towards her.

This is a very atmospheric film exploring the complex and strained relationship between a sucessful, but traumatised middle-aged woman and an unfulfilled and emotionally unbalanced man. Deneuve and Patrick Dewaere are both on fine form, aided by some pretty good dialogue.

The film suffers a little from André Téchiné’s slightly detached style of direction, which, along with some overly melodramatic music, appears to undermine the acting performances.  The film lacks emotional conviction and the overall impression is flat and lumbering.  The ending is particularly irritating, with the two central characters behaving in a way that appears inconsistent and contradictory.  The intensity of a the attraction between the two lovers is scripted but is never fully convincing, and their separation is handled even less satisfactorily.

© James Travers 2000

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