Alain Tanner

Directing

Alain Tanner

Born — Died

1929-12-06 — 2022-09-11

Place of birth

Genève, Suisse

Known for

Directing

Credits

50 titles

Alain Tanner (6 December 1929 – 11 September 2022) was a Swiss film director. Influenced by his involvement with the British "Free Cinema" movement in London and with the French New Wave during his years in Paris, Tanner is best known for his movies Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l'an 2000 (Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000), Dans la ville blanche (In the White City) and Messidor. Dans la ville blanche was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. Description above from the Wikipedia article Alain Tanner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Film credits

1990s · 1 titles

Series credits

Behind the camera

In the White City poster
7.0

Fed up with the sea, Paul, a Swiss mechanic working in the noisy bowels of a merchant ship, lands in Lisbon.

In the White City

1983

In the White City poster
7.0

Fed up with the sea, Paul, a Swiss mechanic working in the noisy bowels of a merchant ship, lands in Lisbon.

In the White City

1983

In the White City poster
7.0

Fed up with the sea, Paul, a Swiss mechanic working in the noisy bowels of a merchant ship, lands in Lisbon.

In the White City

1983

Fourbi poster
5.5

Writer Paul attempts to interview Rosemonde, a young woman who killed an alleged rapist in self-defense six years prior, for a true crime television program. When Rosemonde refuses to divulge details of the events, Paul encourages his actress girlfriend to befriend her, but the three are repeatedly sidetracked from their initial commission.

Fourbi

1996

Fourbi poster
5.5

Writer Paul attempts to interview Rosemonde, a young woman who killed an alleged rapist in self-defense six years prior, for a true crime television program. When Rosemonde refuses to divulge details of the events, Paul encourages his actress girlfriend to befriend her, but the three are repeatedly sidetracked from their initial commission.

Fourbi

1996

Fourbi poster
5.5

Writer Paul attempts to interview Rosemonde, a young woman who killed an alleged rapist in self-defense six years prior, for a true crime television program. When Rosemonde refuses to divulge details of the events, Paul encourages his actress girlfriend to befriend her, but the three are repeatedly sidetracked from their initial commission.

Fourbi

1996

Messidor poster
6.5

Two young women from very different backgrounds journey into the countryside seeking respite from unsatisfactory lives and relationships, but ultimately find that there is no way back to the world they once knew.

Messidor

1979

Messidor poster
6.5

Two young women from very different backgrounds journey into the countryside seeking respite from unsatisfactory lives and relationships, but ultimately find that there is no way back to the world they once knew.

Messidor

1979

Nice Time poster
6.1

A montage of the night-life of Piccadilly Circus across the hours, from early evening to the last lingering passers-by.

Nice Time

1957

Nice Time poster
6.1

A montage of the night-life of Piccadilly Circus across the hours, from early evening to the last lingering passers-by.

Nice Time

1957

Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 poster
6.7

A look at the lives of several men and women in their 30s as they confront the slim gains of the "revolutionary" sixties. Max, a dissatisfied copy editor; Myriam, a redhead into tantric sex; and Marie, a supermarket checker who gives unauthorized discounts to the elderly, search for renewed meaning on a communal farm. The title character, a six-year-old child, is the carrier of their hopes for the future.

Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000

1976

Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 poster
6.7

A look at the lives of several men and women in their 30s as they confront the slim gains of the "revolutionary" sixties. Max, a dissatisfied copy editor; Myriam, a redhead into tantric sex; and Marie, a supermarket checker who gives unauthorized discounts to the elderly, search for renewed meaning on a communal farm. The title character, a six-year-old child, is the carrier of their hopes for the future.

Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000

1976

Light Years Away poster
7.0

A young drifter meets up with a strange old man who claims that he has been taught to fly by birds

Light Years Away

1981

Light Years Away poster
7.0

A young drifter meets up with a strange old man who claims that he has been taught to fly by birds

Light Years Away

1981

Paul s'en va poster
6.2

A group of 17 theater actors wonder about what happened to their teacher when he doesn't show up for a class.

Paul s'en va

2004

Paul s'en va poster
6.2

A group of 17 theater actors wonder about what happened to their teacher when he doesn't show up for a class.

Paul s'en va

2004

Paul s'en va poster
6.2

A group of 17 theater actors wonder about what happened to their teacher when he doesn't show up for a class.

Paul s'en va

2004

A City at Chandigarh poster
6.3

Documentary on the construction of Chandigarh, the new capital of the Indian Punjab region, planned by Albert Mayer and Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

A City at Chandigarh

1966

Charles, Dead or Alive poster
6.5

On the 100th anniversary of the founding of a watchmaking company in Geneva, Charles Dé the founder's 50-year-old grandson has had it: he speaks eccentrically to a reporter, recognizing his grandfather as a craftsman and his son as a businessman, but is evasive about himself. He gives his family the slip and moves in with a young couple he meets by chance, doing the cooking, reading, drinking, and engaging in philosophical discussions with them. The young couple comes to love Charles. In secret, he stays in touch with a daughter, and the rest of the family hires a private investigator to find him, setting in motion a business take-over that threatens his Bohemian happiness.

Charles, Dead or Alive

1970

Charles, Dead or Alive poster
6.5

On the 100th anniversary of the founding of a watchmaking company in Geneva, Charles Dé the founder's 50-year-old grandson has had it: he speaks eccentrically to a reporter, recognizing his grandfather as a craftsman and his son as a businessman, but is evasive about himself. He gives his family the slip and moves in with a young couple he meets by chance, doing the cooking, reading, drinking, and engaging in philosophical discussions with them. The young couple comes to love Charles. In secret, he stays in touch with a daughter, and the rest of the family hires a private investigator to find him, setting in motion a business take-over that threatens his Bohemian happiness.

Charles, Dead or Alive

1970

Charles, Dead or Alive poster
6.5

On the 100th anniversary of the founding of a watchmaking company in Geneva, Charles Dé the founder's 50-year-old grandson has had it: he speaks eccentrically to a reporter, recognizing his grandfather as a craftsman and his son as a businessman, but is evasive about himself. He gives his family the slip and moves in with a young couple he meets by chance, doing the cooking, reading, drinking, and engaging in philosophical discussions with them. The young couple comes to love Charles. In secret, he stays in touch with a daughter, and the rest of the family hires a private investigator to find him, setting in motion a business take-over that threatens his Bohemian happiness.

Charles, Dead or Alive

1970

The Middle of the World poster
6.0

Paul is married, a successful engineer, and a conservative candidate in an upcoming local election. He falls in love with Adriana, a café waitress from Italy. Paul's party is very critical of foreign labour and wants to keep Switzerland to the Swiss. Where Paul falls deeper and deeper into the relationship and is ready to leave his wife, Adriana feels the social pressure growing and has to make her own decision.

The Middle of the World

1974

The Middle of the World poster
6.0

Paul is married, a successful engineer, and a conservative candidate in an upcoming local election. He falls in love with Adriana, a café waitress from Italy. Paul's party is very critical of foreign labour and wants to keep Switzerland to the Swiss. Where Paul falls deeper and deeper into the relationship and is ready to leave his wife, Adriana feels the social pressure growing and has to make her own decision.

The Middle of the World

1974

The Diary of Lady M poster
4.6

She's a beautiful gifted performer, but her work is not the sort that invites popular acclaim. Despite the fact that she is unlikely to become famous, she enjoys her life as a performer who lives just outside the mainstream. Awaiting her backstage one evening is a Spanish painter who has seen her show and wants to make her acquaintance. They walk around Paris getting to know one another, and then the painter returns to Spain. Something about the man has moved Lady M to passion: she flies to meet him in Barcelona and he shows her his beloved Catalonia. This time, however, their relationship is as much about passionate lovemaking as it is about compatibility. So smitten is Lady M with her new man that when she discovers that the painter has a black wife and child, she is only a little bit taken aback and she invites his whole family to join her in Paris. Surprisingly, they do, and the number of people sharing their love and sexual appetites changes from two to three.

The Diary of Lady M

1993

Men of the Port poster
7.0

After 40 years Alain Tanner again travels to the port of Genoa, where he worked for a shipping company as a 22-year-old. On the back of his own memories he depicts the rough world of the dockworkers, another of those trades that has undergone fundamental changes as a result of recessions, modernisation and liberalisation. “The visual impression of the harbour and the city has changed very little, but what goes on there nowadays is completely different. The city is still as beautiful and alien and somewhat sad as before. But the port is dying, like so many other major ports. In Genoa, as elsewhere in Italy, the economic, social and political climate is highly explosive. But you also feel that things are in flow and the country is on the verge of some far-reaching changes. (...) In this film I wanted to explore my own memories of Genoa, uncover its present and guess at its future. Genoa, this beautiful, this sad, this alien town has become for me a metaphor for society in change.”

Men of the Port

1995

Men of the Port poster
7.0

After 40 years Alain Tanner again travels to the port of Genoa, where he worked for a shipping company as a 22-year-old. On the back of his own memories he depicts the rough world of the dockworkers, another of those trades that has undergone fundamental changes as a result of recessions, modernisation and liberalisation. “The visual impression of the harbour and the city has changed very little, but what goes on there nowadays is completely different. The city is still as beautiful and alien and somewhat sad as before. But the port is dying, like so many other major ports. In Genoa, as elsewhere in Italy, the economic, social and political climate is highly explosive. But you also feel that things are in flow and the country is on the verge of some far-reaching changes. (...) In this film I wanted to explore my own memories of Genoa, uncover its present and guess at its future. Genoa, this beautiful, this sad, this alien town has become for me a metaphor for society in change.”

Men of the Port

1995

Return from Africa poster
6.3

A young Swiss couple, Vincent and Françoise, plan to leave Geneva and settle in Africa: a friend of theirs living in Algeria promises to give them a job there.

Return from Africa

1973

Return from Africa poster
6.3

A young Swiss couple, Vincent and Françoise, plan to leave Geneva and settle in Africa: a friend of theirs living in Algeria promises to give them a job there.

Return from Africa

1973

Return from Africa poster
6.3

A young Swiss couple, Vincent and Françoise, plan to leave Geneva and settle in Africa: a friend of theirs living in Algeria promises to give them a job there.

Return from Africa

1973

A Flame in My Heart poster
6.0

Mércedès, an actress from Paris attempts to break off a difficult relationship with the jealous and possessive stalker Johnny. She meets newspaper writer Pierre and goes with him for an afternoon fling. Before the sweat even dries, she finds herself hopelessly in love with him. But soon after their affair begins, he is called off on a business trip leaving the suddenly distraught Mércedès alone. Though preparing for a new play, she is unable to concentrate and barely able to function. Mércedès quits the production, locks herself in Pierre's apartment and quietly begins falling apart, collapsing into a bleak, reclusive madness until his return.

A Flame in My Heart

1987

A Flame in My Heart poster
6.0

Mércedès, an actress from Paris attempts to break off a difficult relationship with the jealous and possessive stalker Johnny. She meets newspaper writer Pierre and goes with him for an afternoon fling. Before the sweat even dries, she finds herself hopelessly in love with him. But soon after their affair begins, he is called off on a business trip leaving the suddenly distraught Mércedès alone. Though preparing for a new play, she is unable to concentrate and barely able to function. Mércedès quits the production, locks herself in Pierre's apartment and quietly begins falling apart, collapsing into a bleak, reclusive madness until his return.

A Flame in My Heart

1987

A Flame in My Heart poster
6.0

Mércedès, an actress from Paris attempts to break off a difficult relationship with the jealous and possessive stalker Johnny. She meets newspaper writer Pierre and goes with him for an afternoon fling. Before the sweat even dries, she finds herself hopelessly in love with him. But soon after their affair begins, he is called off on a business trip leaving the suddenly distraught Mércedès alone. Though preparing for a new play, she is unable to concentrate and barely able to function. Mércedès quits the production, locks herself in Pierre's apartment and quietly begins falling apart, collapsing into a bleak, reclusive madness until his return.

A Flame in My Heart

1987

Jonas and Lila, Til Tomorrow poster
6.4

It’s December 1999, and 25-year-old Jonah has just graduated from film school. As the new millennium begins, Jonah marries his longtime sweetheart Lila. Over the course of six months, the couple meet a number of interesting people, including Irina, an exiled Russian actress, as well as spending their time with Jonah’s sister Cecile and his filmmaking mentor Anziano. The discussions Jonah has with these friends and strangers help him to gain some perspective on his life and the new millennium.

Jonas and Lila, Til Tomorrow

1999

Jonas and Lila, Til Tomorrow poster
6.4

It’s December 1999, and 25-year-old Jonah has just graduated from film school. As the new millennium begins, Jonah marries his longtime sweetheart Lila. Over the course of six months, the couple meet a number of interesting people, including Irina, an exiled Russian actress, as well as spending their time with Jonah’s sister Cecile and his filmmaking mentor Anziano. The discussions Jonah has with these friends and strangers help him to gain some perspective on his life and the new millennium.

Jonas and Lila, Til Tomorrow

1999

Jonas and Lila, Til Tomorrow poster
6.4

It’s December 1999, and 25-year-old Jonah has just graduated from film school. As the new millennium begins, Jonah marries his longtime sweetheart Lila. Over the course of six months, the couple meet a number of interesting people, including Irina, an exiled Russian actress, as well as spending their time with Jonah’s sister Cecile and his filmmaking mentor Anziano. The discussions Jonah has with these friends and strangers help him to gain some perspective on his life and the new millennium.

Jonas and Lila, Til Tomorrow

1999

The Woman from Rose Hill poster
4.9

Julie is a young woman from Rose Hill who arrives in rural Switzerland to marry her older pen-friend Marcel. She feels unhappy until she meets Jean, a younger man. However, his father disagrees.

The Woman from Rose Hill

1989

The Woman from Rose Hill poster
4.9

Julie is a young woman from Rose Hill who arrives in rural Switzerland to marry her older pen-friend Marcel. She feels unhappy until she meets Jean, a younger man. However, his father disagrees.

The Woman from Rose Hill

1989

The Woman from Rose Hill poster
4.9

Julie is a young woman from Rose Hill who arrives in rural Switzerland to marry her older pen-friend Marcel. She feels unhappy until she meets Jean, a younger man. However, his father disagrees.

The Woman from Rose Hill

1989

No Man's Land poster
5.5

Madeleine, who runs a disco on the French-Swiss border, dreams of going to Paris to pursue a singing career. Her lover, Paul, who makes his living smuggling money, gold and goods across the border, plans to emigrate to Canada. Mali, a pretty young Algerian woman who lives in France and works in Switzerland, would like to be anywhere except where she is. Louis, born on a Swiss farm and trained as a clockmaker, would give anything to leave his mistress, Lucie, and move in with Mali.

No Man's Land

1985

No Man's Land poster
5.5

Madeleine, who runs a disco on the French-Swiss border, dreams of going to Paris to pursue a singing career. Her lover, Paul, who makes his living smuggling money, gold and goods across the border, plans to emigrate to Canada. Mali, a pretty young Algerian woman who lives in France and works in Switzerland, would like to be anywhere except where she is. Louis, born on a Swiss farm and trained as a clockmaker, would give anything to leave his mistress, Lucie, and move in with Mali.

No Man's Land

1985