The Song of Styrene (Le chant du styrène)

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Recently restored and digitized in 2K!

THE SONG OF STYRENE is the perfect example of how to turn a commissioned industrial film into a lyrical, satirical film masterpiece. When the young Alain Resnais was asked by the Péchiney plastics giant to make a short documentary on polystyrene, “that noble, entirely man-made matter,” Resnais sensed a rapport between Alexandrine verse and CinemaScope. With text by Raymond Queneau and music by Pierre Barbaud, THE SONG OF STYRENE is a beautiful, surrealist film.

“If the short film did not exist, Alain Resnais surely would have invented it.” —Jean-Luc Godard

“Revelatory. Resnais and cinematographer Sacha Vierny gaze with wonder, coasting along factory lines and sprinkling the frame with close-ups of intricate processes that turn into abstract art by virtue of the tight framing and collage of intersecting colors. [Turns] what’s essential a commercial into a Dr. Seuss-esque bit of amazement at modern technological advances.” —CriterionCast

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; "The Song of Styrene"; Icarus Films; France; French; plastic; styrene; Alain Resnais; short film; science; technology; ; "The Song of Styrene"; Icarus Films