Retrospective: Alain Tanner

“Mr. Tanner’s work has a particular stamp of intellectual liveliness that’s all but disappeared from contemporary cinema.”—New York Times

Beginning in the late 1960s, Swiss-born director Alain Tanner created a singular body of work that echoes the visual style of the French New Wave while thematically reflecting the era’s spirit of nonconformity. This seven-film series includes The Salamander (1971) and Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), masterpieces scripted with English critic John Berger (Ways of Seeing) that explore how we negotiate capitalist society—often in ways that resonate powerfully in today’s climate. If you haven’t had the pleasure, here’s your chance to discover one of the most respected leftist European filmmakers of the late 20th century.

Organized by Metrograph, New York City, and the UW Cinematheque, University of Wisconsin–Madison, with support from the Embassy of Switzerland.

Image Captions

The Salamander, Messidor, and In the White City, courtesy of Swiss Films.