Mélo

Mélo (1986) is a French chamber drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Alain Resnais and adapted from Henri Bernstein's 1929 stage play. The cast pairs Sabine Azéma and Fanny Ardant with Pierre Arditi and André Dussollier.

Paris in the twenties. Violinist Pierre has his old friend Marcel over for dinner — Marcel is the more celebrated musician, easy with women and aware of it. By the end of the evening, Pierre's wife Romaine has fallen for him. Their affair is brief and intense; Marcel never quite sees what's actually at stake. Pierre sees it all.

Resnais didn't open the material up cinematically — he kept it close to the stage, letting dialogue and performance do the work. Dussollier and Arditi play men who are essentially mirror opposites, and that gap between them is what makes the betrayal register. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Stream Mélo (1986) online on iFILM.