Muriel (1963)

 Alain Resnais's "Muriel"


After an explosive beginning to his career in narrative fiction with "Hiroshima mon Amour" and "Last Year at Marienbad," Alain Resnais's follow-ups, "Muriel" and "The War is Over" were a little bit of a let-down for me. With 1963's "Muriel," especially. The film certainly is understandable in both theme and plot. And yet, somehow, it leaves much to be desired.

The film follows Helene, a middle-aged widow, living with her stepson Bernard in Boulogne-sur-Mer. When an old a past lover of Helene's, Alphonse, visits her, the two of them share memories of wartime. Everyone is the story is pained by memory. They obsess over what has happened and the lost moments they will never get back.

Although the thematic point of the story makes for a promising experience, I don't feel as though it contained enough internal or external drama to allow for any attachment with the audience. Perhaps on a re-watch, I would feel differently. However, I felt myself increasingly bored by the film as the story continued.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Dolce Vita (1960)

Image
  Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" The famed Italian poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini once said that Federico Fellini's 1960 masterpiece " La Dolce Vita " was too important to be discussed in the usual way one discusses a film. I absolutely agree. " La Dolce Vita " is not only a monolith in cinematic history - it set a new precedent for how films could be constructed. Its DNA lies in the very components of modern cinematic convention. The themes and narrative beats remain as relevant today as they were in 1960, lending the film a remarkable sense of timelessness. To call " La Dolce Vita " a masterpiece almost feels like an understatement.  The film departs from traditional narrative structure, unfolding instead through a series of interconnected episodes. Marcello Mastroianni stars as Marcello Rubini, a tabloid journalist who aspires to write literature. Navigating the glamorous yet hollow world of Rome's café society, he spend...
Read more

Oliver Twist (1948)

Image
  David Lean's "Oliver Twist" After the success of David Lean's 1946 adaption of Charles Dickens classic 1861 novel " Great Expectations ," Lean decided once again to adapt a classic work by Dickens. This time, his focus was on the 1837 novel, " Oliver Twist ." His 1948 adaptation once again proved that Lean was able to take Dicken's classic work and visualize it for the big screen.  Centering on a young orphan boy in 19th century England, " Oliver Twist " details the boy's plight as he is hired out as an apprentice after asking a cruel taskmaster for a second serving of gruel. Falling in with a street urchin and a criminal, the boy's fate between wealth and poverty hangs in the balance when his kindly benefactor decides to take him in. From all of the Charles Dickens adaptations I have seen, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of Dicken's work. I know, blasphemous. From " Great Expectations " to ...
Read more

Crazed Fruit (1956)

Image
  Ko Nakahira's "Crazed Fruit" Much like how " Rebel Without a Cause " ushered in a fresh perspective on the  youth culture of America, a genre known as the 'Sun Tribe' sprung up in Japan, centering on the troubled youth of the post-war culture. The 1950s were evidently a period of intense social upheaval in Japan, and the sprawling success of Japanese cinema was able to tap into this frustrating period. With the 'Sun Tribe' films, audiences were introduced to a new, troubling perspective that completely shook the older generations to their core.  The films of the 'Sun Tribe' demonstrated a moral panic that Japanese youth were being sent into. After the devastation of the war, existential nihilism took root in younger cultures, cultivating through teenagers and young adults who completely disregarded the traditional morals of their elders in favor of consumerism, sexual liberty, and self-satisfaction. The older generations of Japan saw th...
Read more