Hiroshima Mon Amour – Wellington Film Society

Alain Resnais, France/Japan 1959 HD R16

While making a film in Japan, a French actress has an affair with a Japanese architect. As their relationship unfolds, the story of her life in occupied France as the lover of a German soldier, as well as her subsequent condemnation as a collaborator, is interwoven with his horrific experiences as a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Both are married, to all appearances happily so, yet they are drawn to each other in subtle, unspoken ways. Director Alain Resnais's images and screenwriter Marguerite Duras's words present the story in a series of searing flashbacks, brief vignettes that sometimes leave the viewer unsure whether the date is 1959 or 1945. This jumbling of time produces a sense of timelessness, of course, but it also impresses one with the contingent nature of reality and, most importantly, truth. The two lovers, knowing their relationship is fleeting, challenge and soothe each other in equal measure, so as to savor every moment they have together. - MOMA