Resnais’ second English-language film features two things close to his heart: Americans in Paris (he was shortly to make a documentary on Gershwin); and comic-strips. A cantankerous cartoonist, played by legendary script- and songwriter Adolph Green, visits Paris for an exhibition of his work and hopefully to be reconciled with his daughter (Laura Benson). She fled America to write a thesis on Flaubert at the Sorbonne and yearns to be supervised by Gerard Depardieu’s professor who, unknown to her, is a huge fan of her father. The action is punctuated by debates between animated versions of the hero’s cartoon characters and concludes with a masquerade ball described by one critic as a Loony Tunes version of Renoir’s La regle du jeu. Scripted by Jules Feiffer and with music by Cabaret composer John Kander, this comedy of cultural and generational conflict and exchange sounds irresistible but got the worst reviews of Resnais’ career. In short, a genuine curiosity: even failure can be fascinating.