tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post5436327143337922087..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: Films I Love #39: Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)Ed Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-75100878539624431642009-08-06T11:01:06.003-04:002009-08-06T11:01:06.003-04:00That's a very interesting take on the film, J....That's a very interesting take on the film, J. I agree that the concept here, in itself, makes it sound like the film would be unbearably pretentious -- but Resnais is intellectually precise enough that he, and perhaps only he, can make it work. <br /><br />I really like your breakdown of all the levels on which the film is about communication barriers and gaps in understanding: between Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-8852039925139647482009-08-06T00:19:30.001-04:002009-08-06T00:19:30.001-04:00I think using a couple's love affair as a meta...I think using a couple's love affair as a metaphor for the tragedy of Hiroshima is about as pretentious as you can get, at least in theory, but somehow Resnais manages to makes it work. In some ways, I wonder if Resnais is utilizing the film's love affair as a commentary on his work in documentaries like <i>Nuit et brouillard</i>, demonstrating that not even filmed footage of historical Jeremy Nyhuishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-63853322062614221672009-08-05T14:35:36.082-04:002009-08-05T14:35:36.082-04:00Thanks for the comments, all.
Juliette, for me t...Thanks for the comments, all. <br /><br />Juliette, for me the first fifteen minutes are the key to the film and its best part; it'd be a great film just for that even if the rest of the film was inconsequential.<br /><br />Carson, I agree about Riva, who brings some warmth and feeling to what would otherwise be an entirely abstract film. She makes her unnamed character a person rather than Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-50240779195782377472009-08-05T14:21:19.243-04:002009-08-05T14:21:19.243-04:00Once again I'm in full agreement, since it'...Once again I'm in full agreement, since it's all a favourite of mine. At the time I saw it (late 70s) it got me hooked on Duras' works which I collected and read most all of. The movie is very close to her style of writing.<br /><br />By the way, Marguerite Duas has alos done some amazing work as a movie director. Her movies are probably hard to find, but likely I was able to attend aWilliam Kretschmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08338853206337389818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-32427057660057862732009-08-05T13:07:45.776-04:002009-08-05T13:07:45.776-04:00This is a masterful film with remarkably sensuous ...This is a masterful film with remarkably sensuous photography. Your analysis is spot-on, discussing the film as an ostensible narrative, but with greater emphasis on symbology, the namelessness of the characters being the key point. I also love Emmanuelle Riva's performance, which, despite her use as a purely metaphorical figure, manages to be extremely personal and plausible. Great choice Carson Lundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10164962777812861110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-79682869144745618152009-08-05T12:07:39.375-04:002009-08-05T12:07:39.375-04:00Of Resnais' work, I've really only seen th...Of Resnais' work, I've really only seen this one and Not on the Lips in their entirety. But I love your analysis of the first 15 minutes especially. Thanks for sharing your views. :)Juliette.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02779055836350808401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-91659503775402136472009-08-05T10:45:15.120-04:002009-08-05T10:45:15.120-04:00Thanks, Sam. I find Resnais' great films diffi...Thanks, Sam. I find Resnais' great films difficult to compare, especially <i>Night and Fog</i> against his fiction features. <i>Night and Fog</i> is one of the towering masterworks of cinema, no doubt about it, but somehow it seemed slightly wrong to excerpt it here like this. So instead I included this one, a worthy second place. I definitely don't think it's dated -- or "Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-42000179710875524592009-08-05T10:38:34.884-04:002009-08-05T10:38:34.884-04:00Yes indeed, this is one of the seminal works of th...Yes indeed, this is one of the seminal works of the New Wave, and one of the most abstract of cinematic works. I like the film, but I prefer NUIT ET BRULIARD and LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD. Of course Resnais's ability to transcend singular modes of expressions makes them difficult to compare. But it's still a masterpiece, and I can't at all fault you for including it in your most Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com