“What would Rene bring from Japan? I had no idea’: producer Anatole Daumann on Alain René, Night and Fog and Hiroshima Mon Amour

The following appeared in Film maker‘s Spring, 2000 companion edition All tomorrows yesterdays, an article in which four filmmakers reflect on the work of Alain René. – Editor

Anatole Dauman, through his company Argos Films, produced or co-produced many of the masterpieces of post-war European cinema – including Alain René’s Night and fog; Hiroshima, Mont Amour; Last year in Marienbad; and Muriel.After his death in 1998, his daughter Florence Daumann (herself a producer of A personal journey with Martin Scorsese through American cinema), takes control of the company, which today houses the largest collection of independent cinema in France.

Ms. Dauman kindly provided Film maker with the following comments made by her father recounting two of his earliest collaborations with director Alain René.

Night and fog (1956)

“It was our first short film together. Would he accept a great challenge: to visually translate the unimaginable horror of the concentration camps? I had no doubt that his talent was well suited to this awe-inspiring subject. Several institutions contributed to the budget, and Poland provided significant in-kind support – plane tickets, crew members, lighting for the entire Auschwitz camp, and camera tracks to retrace the path of death through the labyrinth. Nevertheless, 10 million francs – a significant investment at the time – were needed on the part of Argos Films. At Chris Marker’s suggestion, Alain René chooses Jean Cairol, a Mauthausen camp survivor, to write the hard-hitting, unforgiving commentary.

“Night and fog, cited by Roberto Rossellini as the most important film of the post-war years, ran into problems with French censorship. They forced us to disguise the hat of a French policeman who was overseeing the deportation of the Jews who were thrown into Vel’d’Hiv’. The hat – the unmistakable characteristic of the French police – was evidence of institutional collaboration in the Holocaust.

“Night and fog brought Alain René international fame.

Hiroshima, Mont Amour (1959)

“Alain René came to direct under unusual circumstances. I had offered Mr. Nagata, president of the powerful Daiei company, a documentary about the atomic bomb. It was supposed to be an official co-production between France and Japan. The working title, one word – dart board (Japanese for the “flash” of a nuclear explosion) – summed up the difficult subject. For months, inspiration eluded Renee. We were losing faith in the project when an inspiration suddenly dawned on us: Japan had to be reflected in the eyes of a woman. A yen for fiction conquered Picadon. The deal closed, we turned our attention to the script. Rene offers a new voice in literature, Marguerite Duras. The agreement was signed immediately, and I remember Marguerite saying with pleasure: “It’s not a pot of gold, but it’s still gold, since I retain creative freedom!” The script was written in two months. The time had finally come. I took Alain René to the airport, where minutes before the plane took off for Japan, he confessed to me: “I’m going, but once I’m there I’ll realize that the film is impossible to make, just impossible.”

“In Japan, Alain René surprised everyone with his confidence. Despite the language barrier, he was able to convey his smallest intentions to the Japanese actors and crew. [He was] a marvel of grace. On learning the wonderful news, Marguerite was delighted, and her infectious exuberance restored me. But what would Rene bring from Japan? I had no idea because I refused to sit in the rush, preferring the revelation of the first cut.

“After the screening of the first print with the answer, I turned to René and offered a malicious aside, ‘I’ve seen all this before … in Citizen Kane – a film that disrupts chronology and reverses the flow of time.” He simply replied: ‘Yes, but in my film time is broken.’

“The language of cinema had just changed and audiences around the world were blown away by the picture. “The most beautiful film I’ve ever seen,” André Malraux said at the time. Duras’ writing greatly contributed to this achievement. René so respected Duras’ writing style that he had timed his pictures with a stopwatch in hand to match the musical rhythm of her words. However, I feel that the real strength of the film lies in Rene’s masterful direction and skillful editing. I always thought of him as the sole “author” of his films. From time to time, regardless of the writer’s input, Alain René’s style always shined through – a unique style that is very much his own.”