Muriel ou le temps d’un retour
Directed by Alain Resnais
Written by Jean Cayrol
1963/France/Italy
Argos Films/Alpha Productions/Les Films de la Pleiade/etc.
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] “A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.” ― Mark Twain[/box]
A potentially haunting film about memory was marred for me by the dissonant music and constant cutting.
All of the principals are trying and failing to cope with painful past. Helene Aughain (Delphine Seyrig) invites Alphonse Noyard to visit her in the seaside town of Boulogne. He arrives with his beautiful young “niece” in tow. Helene and Alphone were lovers during the War. Their affair was tumultuous and both suffered from wartime trauma. Helene lives with her stepson Bernard, who has been home for eight months after service in Algeria. He may never recover from his involvement in the torture of a woman named Muriel.
Things don’t go well for anyone involved.
Just when you think you might be understanding the plot, Resnais starts frenetically cutting between random incidents in the day of the various characters. This movie also features a lot of very irritating dissonant soprano opera singing. I can understand why a lot of people like this film more than I do but I was more annoyed than anything else.
Bea, I have a question for you that has nothing to do with this particular movie.
I am setting up my list for 1964 and you usually have a very good overview of the releases in any given year. Are there any movies you could recommend me as off-list entries?
I have already entered The Naked Kiss and I am of a mind to include A Fistfull of Dollars.
I’m looking forward to seeing a Fistful of Dollars for the first time myself!
I can most highly recommend I Am Cuba/Soy Cuba. It’s a Russian-Cuban propaganda film BUT it has the most mind-blowing and beautiful cinematography I have ever seen. It comes from the director and cinematographer of The Cranes Are Flying. I can’t find it for rent or on line and am going to buy the DVD so I can watch it again. Another suggestion would be Kaidan. It’s four ghost stories in color directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.
There are also three or four Zaitoichi films from the year. I’d encourage you to try one someday and see if they are for you. I love them as entertaining. Finally the 7 Up series of documentaries begins in this year. I love them. The first is a half-hour TV show about children who will be 40 in the year 2000. The director comes back to the same people every seven years thereafter. It is so fascinating to watch how they change and stay the same.
Thank you, Bea. These is very useful recommendations. I think I will look for the Cuba movie as my highest priority then.