L’année dernière à Marienbad

English title: Last Year at Marienbad

Genre: psychological drama (in black and white)

With: Delphine Seyrig (the brunette), Giorgio Albertazzi (her pursuer), Sacha Pitoëff (the other man), Françoise Bertin (a hotel guest), Luce Garcia-Ville (another hotel guest)

Director: Alain Resnais

Screenplay: Alain Robbe-Grillet

Release: 1961

Studio: Cocinor, Terra Film, Cormoran Films et al.

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.8/10 

 

I Sure Hope You’re Right, Fella!

 

QuickView

Story-line: a woman staying at a posh European hotel is hounded by a man who claims to have met her somewhere before. Was it in Marienbad? Or is the guy plainly mistaken?

Pluses: self-conscious and stilted acting (at times laughably so), amazing direction that delivers several highlights (notably the opening 13-minute set-up and one intense dance scene at the 70-minute mark), a disjointed, supremely cryptic screenplay that generates little action (except on a psychological level) yet remains astonishing throughout, dialogues both literary and impressionistic, aesthetically-minded cinematography, sumptuous production values and an oddly used, expansive and omnipresent musical score featuring romantic strings but mostly a thunderous, quasi-apocalyptic organ.

Minuses: this dry and meditative movie is definitely not for everyone. Viewers will need perseverance (or tight buttocks) during the last act. Generally speaking, if you choose to watch this film, put aside everything you know about cinema.

Comments: yes… my review sounds like an oxymoron at times but it truly reflects what L’ANNÉE DERNIÈRE À MARIENBAD is all about. Alain Resnais’s work is so different, hermetic and daring that it can only be described as an anti-movie, in a vein similar to HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR and Marguerite Duras’s INDIA SONG. It basically involves three characters – the woman, the pursuer and the woman’s husband – while extras stand around like wallflowers or wander about aimlessly. This abstract, arty and strangely mesmerizing oeuvre has garnered nominations at several festivals – winning the Golden Lion in Venice – and is universally considered a masterpiece. So, will the guy finally get the girl? I won’t tell… it’s the whole payoff! 

 

MBiS 

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