AMerchantIvoryFilmsRelease

inassociationwith
ArtisticLicenseFilms
presents

OnConnaitLaChanson
(SameOldSong)
AFilmbyAlainResnais

1998/35mm/color/1:85/DolbySRD/120min.

DistributionContact:
ArtisticLicenseFilms
250West57thStreet,Suite606
NewYork,NY10107

212.265.9124Fax212.262.9299

PublicityContact:
SamanthaDean&Associates,INC.
36West44thStreet
Suite1401
NewYorkNY10036
212.391.2675Fax212.391.4913

SYNOPSIS

SimonissecretlyinlovewithCamille.Followingamisunderstanding,
CamillefallsinlovewithMarc.Marc,acharmingestateagentandSimon's
boss,istryingtosellanapartmenttoOdile,Camille'ssister.Odileis
determinedtobuytheapartment,despitethesilentdisapprovalofher
husband,Claude.Claude,anapparentlyinsignificantman,looks
unfavorablyonthereappearanceofNicolasaftermanylongyears.Nicolas,
Odile'soldfriend,becomesSimon'sconfidant...

SelectedPressQuotes

"ONCONNAITLACHANSONisaveryspecialfilm,exciting,intelligent,
moving,funny,superb,unique...Andacompletesuccess."
Libration,France
"AlainResnaishasneverbeenthisyoungandthisfree.LikeanAmerican
comedyfromtheGoldendaysofHollywood...ONCONNAITLA
CHANSONisapuredelight."
LesInrockuptibles,France
"Adelightfulromanticcomedy...lively,funny,andmoving!"
LeMonde,France
"Afilmthatyouwillalwayscherish!Afilmthatwilldefinitelymakeyou
happy!"
LeNouveauQuotidien,Switzerland
"Audacious,delightfulandjustaboutperfectfromfirstnotetolast,Alain
Resnais'SAMEOLDSONGpresentsafamiliartuneinaclevernew
arrangement...Resultisabittersweetdelightthatcementsthe75yearold
Resnais'statusasoneofinternationalcinema'smostplayfulandinnovative
elderstatesmen."
Variety,U.S.A.

CREDITS

Director...............................................AlainResnais
Screenplay&Dialogue....................AgnsJaoui,JeanPierreBacri
Music&Arrangements................................BrunoFontaine
ExecutiveProducer.....................................BrunoPesery
AssociateProducers.................MichelSeydoux,RuthWaldburger
FirstAssistantDirector...............................ThierryVerrier
SecondAssistantDirector............................CamilleLipmann
ScriptSupervisor...................................SylvetteBaudrot
LineProducer..................................CatherineChouridis
ProductionManager..................................DidierCarrel
DirectorofPhotography...............................RenatoBerta
FirstAssistantCameraman...........................JeanPaulToraille
SetDesigner........................................JacquesSaulnier
Decorator...........................................PhilippeTurlure
ChiefSoundEngineer.................................PierreLenoir
FirstSoundAssistant..................................DidierCarquin
SoundMixEngineer.................................JeanPierreLaforce
ChiefEditor............................................HervDeLuze
AssistantEditor.......................................ChristophePinel
BackgroundSound.................................MichelKlochendler
CostumeDesigner.......................................JackieBudin
Wardrobe...................................AnneDunsfordVarenne
Makeup...............................................JackieReynal
Hair...............................................ThomasNellen
IllustrationsforTitlesandPressBooks.........................Floch

CAST

Claude.............................................PierreArditi
OdileLalande.......................................SabineAzma
Nicolas............................................JeanPierreBacri
Simon.............................................AndrDussollier
CamilleLalande......................................AgnsJaoui
Marc..............................................LambertWilson
Jane................................................JaneBirkin
Father.........................................JeanPaulRoussillon
Doctor#3...........................................NellyBorgeaud
VonCholtitz..........................................GotzBurger
Youngmanwithcheck..........................JeanPierreDarroussin
Restaurantcustomer..............................CharlotteKady
Doctor#1..........................................JacquesMauclair
Cafowner........................................PierreMeyrand
Femaleguest.......................................ClaireNadeau
Elderlyman...................................DominiqueRozan
Youngfiredman...........................JeanChretienSibertinBlanc
Doctor#2......................................BonnafetTarboureich
Restaurantwaiter................................WilfredBenaiche
Littlelady(ontour).................................FrancoiseBertin
Guest.........................................RobertBouvier
Femaleguest....................................FrdriqueCantrel
Guest............................................JeromeChappatte
Nurse..........................................RomaineDeNando
Femaleguest....................................NathalieJeannet
Youngwomankissing............................DelphineQuentin

Marc'scolleague...................................GeoffroyThiebaut

AConversationwithAlainResnais

HowdidSameOldSongcomeabout?
AlainResnais:AfterSmokingandNoSmoking,BrunoPeseryaskedmetofilm
anoperawrittenforthebigscreen.Itprobablywouldhavebeeneasyto
financetheprojectinEnglishbutIfeltthatmyknowledgeofthelanguage
wasinsufficientforsuchanundertaking.Ithereforelookedforan
alternative.DuringtheworkontheadaptationofIntimateExchanges,the
seriesofplaysbyAlanAyckbournthatledtoSmokingandNoSmoking,Ihad
becomeclosefriendswithAgnsJaouiandJeanPierreBacri.Iadmiredthe
musicalityoftheirdialogueandtheirperformancesonstageandscreen.I
thereforeaskedthemiftheywouldbeinterestedwritingascreenplay.They
repliedthattheywouldbut,havingnotappearedinourtwo"twinfilms,"
theydidn'twanttowriteforotheractorsthanthemselves.Thissuitedme
perfectly.Wethenspentthreeorfourafternoonstalkingaboutcharacters,
outlines,whatwewantedordidn'twanttodoonfilm.Weferretedthrough
mysubjectbox.IthinkIevengavethe"JaouiBacris"atotallyoutrageous
halfhourimprovisation,alittlelikeautomaticwriting,thatIhadrecordedon
audiotape.Thethemeoftheouterappearancesthatwewearthroughoutour
livesrosetothesurfacealongwithotherelements,likeaguideandhervisits
andthepsychologyofthehermitcrab.Then,asIamagreatadmirerofthe
Englishwriter,DennisPotter,IshowedthemextractsfromhisTVfilms.In
someofthem,thecharactersregularlylipsynchtopopularsongs.And
gradually,theoutlineofthefilmcameintoshape.Thechallengewasthe
following:hownottocopyPotter,givenmypassionforhiswork?We
thereforedecidedtouseFrenchsongsrootedinaneverydayclimate,
excludinganynotionoffantasy.Thesongs,withtwoorthreeexceptions,
don'tdescribethecharacters'imaginaryworldeither.NicoleVedres,with
whomIworkedasanassistantin1947onParisMilNeufCent,toldmeoneday
thatthenovel,initsdescriptionsofloveanditsmelodies,couldnevermatch
socalledpopularormusichallsongs.AndI'veoftennoticedthatpopular
songsaccompanytheactsofoureverydaylives.Ifwebehavedatall
naturally,we'dusesonglyricsinconversation.

Inyoumindandthatofthewriters,doesthechoiceofsongextractsforthe
actionprovideasortofanthologyofFrenchsong?
AlainResnais:No,definitelynot.Wedidn'taimtohaveabalancedmix,
eitheronachronologicalleveloraccordingtothenumberofsongsbya
singleperformer.Thesongsthatweusedarethosethatcametousnaturally,
throughanassociationofideas.Mostoftheextractsareveryshort,
sometimescutinthemiddle,correspondingtothewayourmindswork(we
rarelyrememberawholechorusandevenmorerarelyaverse).Butother
extractsarelonger.Wedidn'tsetourselvesstrictlimits.
Themembersoftheaudiencewillprobablyreactdifferentlyaccordingto
whethertheyknowthesongsornot.
AlainResnais:Wewantedalargenumberofhits(inparticular,sothatthe
audiencewouldn'tthinkthatthesongshadbeenwrittenforthefilm)butyou
cansenseahitevenifyou'veneverhearditbefore.Iknewnothingofsomeof
thesongssuggestedbyAgnsJaouiandJeanPierreBacributifIfeltthatthey
werehitswhenlisteningtothem,I'dimmediatelyendorsethem.
Yourloveofmusicalsiswellknownandyetitishardtofindanillusiontothe
genreinSameOldSong.
AlainResnais:Iwasparticularlydeterminednottostrayintothatarea.A
musicalalmostalwayscontainsdancingoratleastmovementsandgestures
byactorstoevokedancing.Onceagain,wewereaimingforamoreeveryday
style.Wewantedthesongstoenterthesceneswithoutanywarning.Ifthe
audience,evenonlyonceortwice,couldforgetthatitwashearingasongand
thinkthatthewordsweredialogue,thenwewouldbehappy.
InterviewbyFranoisThomas

AConversationwithAgnsJaouiandJeanPierreBacri

Howdidyouwork?
AgnsJaoui:InthesamewayasonSmoking.We'drecordthesceneson
audiotape,playingalltheparts.Alainwouldthenlistenandleavehis
remarksonouransweringmachine.Westartedmeetingaftercompletingthe
firstdraft.
Didyouknowthattherewouldbesongsinthefilm?
JeanPierreBacri:Thatwasthebasicidea.
AgnsJaoui:AlainwantedtopaytributetothefilmsbyDennisPotter(The
SingingDetective,PenniesfromHeaven,andLipstickonYourCollar...)thathehad
shownus.AndIhadmuchthesamefeelingaswhenhefirsttalkedtous
aboutSmoking.Ithought:"Thisisoriginal,it'sResnais,Iwanttodoit."He
wouldsay:"Idon'tknowifthisisgoingtoworkbutIreallywanttotry."He's
verycreative,likeapainterwhodoesn'tjustwanttopaintaprettypicturebut
alsoinventsomething.
Didyouthinkofthesongsasyouwerewritingordidyoustartbywritinga
"traditional"screenplay?
AgnsJaoui:Inacoupleofcases,asonggaveustheideaforascenebut,
usually,thesituationssuggestedthesongstous.Fromthatpointofview,it's
a"traditional"screenplay,notanexcusetousesongs.
Howdidyougoaboutchoosingthesongs?
JeanPierreBacri:Aboveallwewantedwellknownsongswithmelodies
thatmostpeoplecouldidentify,populartunes.
AgnsJaoui:Apopulartuneissomethingthatisuniversalthatreachesthe

collectivesubconsciousandthecultureofagenerationoracountry.Atthe
sametime,foreachoneofus,itcanevokeamomentoraneventinourlives.
JeanPierreBacri:Butwehadsetourselvesothercriteria.Thelyricsofthe
songshadtocorrespondtothedialogueandaboveallnotbeasuperfluous
additionoracommentaryonthewriting.Ifwehadtakenthesongsout,
we'dhaveneededtoreplacethemwithdialogue.
Didyouchooseallthesongs?
JeanPierreBacri:No.Alainchoseafew.
Howdidyoufitinwiththe"Resnaisfamily?"
AgnsJaoui:Veryeasily.Alaintreatspeopleveryequitably.Oncehehas
chosenthem,helovesthemandshowsit.
Howdoesheapproachtheworkofdirection?
AgnsJaoui:Beforeshooting,heorganizesindividualworksessionswith
eachactorathishomeduringwhichaverypreciseagreementisreachedon
thepsychologyofthecharacterandthesituations.Andoncewe'reontheset,
heallowstheactortotalfreedom.Hemayinterveneconcerningamatterof
rhythmortosay:"I'mverypleasedwiththatbutifyouwanttoputalittle
moreirrationalityintoit,goahead."Youfeelverycomfortablewithhim.
Isupposethesongpassagesrequiredthemostrehearsal.
JeanPierreBacri:Yes.Wewouldlearnthesongsathomeandwhenwe
arrivedinthemorning,wewouldworkhardonthesynchronizationwiththe
soundengineer.
Wasthesongplayedonthesetasyouwereacting?
JeanPierreBacri:Yes.Inthemiddleofthedialogue,therewasa"buzz"all
ofasuddenandthesongwouldstartup.
It'sraretoseesongsointimatelyblendedwithdialogue.
JeanPierreBacri:I'mnotabigfanofmusicalsandthatwasoneofourmajor
concernsfromthewordgo.Thesungpassageshadtobefirmlyincontext,on
anequalfootingwiththeplotandtheemotions.Thesongsaren't

complete.Youherethreelineshere,threelinesthere.Andthathadnever
beendonebefore.
AgnsJaoui:Yes,weusedlikeproverbs."Everycloudhasasilverlining,"
"Alwayslookonthebrightsideoflife"...oldideasandcommonplacenotions
thatsumuptheemotionand,atthesametime,reduceit.
JeanPierreBacri:Inthisway,thesongshaveadirectlinktothethemeof
appearancesbecausethemediumofsongisbothuniversalandimpreciseor
approximate.True,peopleuseittocommunicateandformbonds,butthisis
alsoamaskandit'snotanambitiousandpersonalwayofcommunicating.If
someoneissad,yousay"Everycloudhasasilverlining,"andheunderstands
whatthatmeans.And,atthesametime,youdon'treallyrevealyourown
personality.Theyaremerelyasemblanceofcontactsandrelationships.In
thefilm,thefamilyphotoshownbymycharacter(Nicolas)thatlookslikean
adforbreakfastcerealisanimageofsuccess.Theadforbreakfastcerealisa
photographicsong:"IshowyouacertainideaofhappinessandyouthinkI'm
happy."
AgnsJaoui:Wealsoaimedtotalkabouthappinessandthedifficultyof
beinghappy,ofwhathappinessmeans.Forme,oneofthereasonswhy
peoplefeelunhappyisbecausetheycomparethemselvestoothers.Weare
bombardedwithimagesofyoung,healthypeoplewithahappyfamily...and
wecontinuallycompareourselvestothisimageofhappiness.Ifyou'reover
twentyfive,ifyou'reabitfatter,abitthinner,abittaller,abitmoresingle,a
bitmorechildless,etc....notonlydoyoufeelunhappy,butyoualsofeel
lonely,excludedandabnormal.
JeanPierreBacri:Inthefilm,thethemeofappearancesisbalancedoutby
thethesis.Thisisasuccessfulrelationship.It'stakentoitscompleteand
logicalconclusion.inthiscase,ontheyeomenofPaladruLakeintheyear
1000.Youdo800pagestodealwiththeissuefully,andyouendupwithin
somethingthick,solid,expansivetheidealwayofboringotherpeople
silly.Weneedbriefandsimplisticsigns,asinadvertisingorthesesongsthat
don'tmeananythingbutthatweidentifywith.Theytalktoeveryone,
providingasortofsecretforsuccessencapsulatedinthreewords.
AgnsJaoui:And,atthesametime,theconsumersociety,likepopular
music,isreassuring.We'renotsayingthatitshouldn'texist.
JeanPierreBacri:Notatall.OneofthecommonthemesinCuisineet
Dpendances,UnAirdeFamilleandSameOldSongistheideathatyoucango
beyondthoseappearancesandgettotheheartofthings,despitethedangers
ofconflict,evenwithyourself,andtheriskofseeingyourselfasyoureally

are.Toobadifit'sevenfurtherfromthatparticularadandthesongs.You
discoveryourself.That'sthemainthing.Discoveringyourself.
AgnsJaoui:Odile(SabineAzma)isthecharacterwhomaintainsthisneed
toputonafrontthemoststubbornly.Sheisalwaysontopoftheworldand
doesn'tunderstandotherpeople'ssufferingbecausesherefusestoaccepther
own.
JeanPierreBacri:Forher,asformanypeople,admittingone'sweaknessesis
tantamounttofailure.It'sadefeat.
Inthefilm,Camille(AgnsJaoui)hasanervousbreakdownjustwhen
everythingisgoingwellforher.Sheisinlove,shehasjustobtainedher
doctorate...Doyouthinkthatoftenhappens?
JeanPierreBacri:Whenyouspendyearsassomeoneworkingonathesis
doesdevotingallyourenergytoaspecificgoal,onceyoureachthatgoal,
youendupinavoid.
AgnsJaoui:Yousay:"Sowhat,I'veobtainedmydoctorateorwhatever
andnothinghaschanged.I'mnotdifferent,better,morebeautiful,I'mjust
myself.Icoulddietomorrow.Whatuseisitall?"Andingeneralthat
happenswhenyou'retwentyfiveorthirty.Becominganadult,marksthe
endofacertaindream,acertainprojectionintothefuture,andyouhaveto
facethepresentandtheabsurdityofthislife...Youare.that'sall.
JeanPierreBacri:Youpursueagoaltoavoidtheangstofliving.
AgnsJaoui:Buttheangstisalwaysthere...
JeanPierreBacri:...Yes,butthegoalhasasortofsmokescreenhiding
it.Andassoonasyoureachit,theangstreappears.Soyouquicklyputthe
screenbackup.That'swhywe'regoingtostartwritingagainassoonas
possible.

CatherineWimphen

Interviewby

AlainResnaisFilmography

Direction:
1948VanGogh
1950Guernica
CodirectedwithRobertHessens
1953LesStatuesMeurentAussi
CodirectedwithChrisMarker
1955NuitetBrouillard
1956ToutelaMemoireduMonde
1958LeChantduStyrene
1959Hiroshima,MonAmour
1961L'AnneDerniereaMarienbad
(LastYearinMarienbad)
1963MurielOuleTempsD'UnRetour
Muriel
1966LaGuerreestFinie
(TheWarisOver)
1967LoinduVietNam
(FarFromVietnam)
1968Jet'aime,Jet'aime

1974Stavisky...
1976Providence
1980MonOncleD'Amerique
(MyAmericanUncle)
1983LaVieestunRoman
(LifeisaBedofRoses)
1984L'AmouraMort
1986Melo
1989IWanttogoHome
1991Gershwin(EncyclopediaUniversalis)
1993SmokingandNoSmoking
basedonIntimateExchangesbyAlanAyckbourn
1997OnConnaitlaChanson