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Alain Resnais on John Pattison’s score for Smoking No Smoking

I’m often disappointed by films that are supposed to be set in London or New York and in which all the details are wrong. I’ve tried to do the opposite. The props, benches, dresses and costumes are all very important for me. My sounds are English - the gulls, the bells, the children on the sports field, the hymns coming from the church.

John Pattison’s score is therefore in its natural setting. I needed music that could only have been written by an Englishman. I asked him to communicate a notion of soul-searching, a sort of utopian desire for a world of dreams and perfection, for happiness which we think we could have reached if we’d troubled ourselves enough but which we refuse to believe to be linked solely to the imagination. Behind each character, there’s a romantic picture story vision of happiness. I wanted a score that would contain a hint of tender irony at times, which nonetheless doesn’t make us feel superior to the characters. A score that could either be sentimental or aggressive.

Last updated 22 December 2001 from original created on 7 Nov 2000. Page hosted in the UK at www.johnpattison.com created by John Allsopp. Text and page design © John Allsopp.