Les Uns Et Les Autres (1981)

Covering almost 50 years from 1936 to 1980, the film follows and intercuts three generations of four families: American, French, German and Russian and two generations of another French. A Russian ballerina (Rita Poelvoorde) gives up her career when she marries a man (Jorge Donn), who will be killed in WWII but spawns a son (also played by Donn) and a granddaughter (played by Poelvoorde). A German pianist (Daniel Olbrychski) is acclaimed by Hitler but his association will have consequences that will haunt him the rest of his life. A French Jewish couple (Nicole Garcia, Robert Hossein) are sent to the concentration camp but abandon their infant son (played by Hossein as an adult) to save him, when only she survives the death camp she spends the rest of her life looking for her son. An American band leader (James Caan) and his singer wife (Geraldine Chaplin) have children (played by Caan and Chaplin as adults) whose lives will not be as happy. A French singer (Evelyne Bouix) collaborates with the Nazis and her daughter's (also Bouix) destiny also seems as ill fated. All storylines merge by film's finale. The common thread that ties them all together is music whether as a composer, musician or performer. Claude Lelouch's (A MAN AND A WOMAN) ambitious three hour semi-musical is often hard to keep track of as the film bounces around the four narratives and having the actors play their own children is often confusing. But if you stick with it, you'll find a rich if flawed tapestry that is never less than engrossing. The songs and underscore duties are shared by Michel Legrand Francis Lai. The large international cast includes Macha Meril, Alexandra Stewart, Jean Claude Brialy, Fanny Ardant, Richard Bohringer and Sharon Stone.