Hiroshima, Mon Amour

A seminal work from the French New Wave, Alain Resnais's 1959 Hiroshima, Mon Amour is not an easy film to watch, employing as it does graphic documentary footage shot in the early aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima, and then cutting back and forth between past and present with increasing regularity. Still, this cinematic poem, based on novelist Marguerite Duras's enigmatic Oscar-nominated script, continues to pack a haunting punch some 40-plus years later. The present-day action takes place over the course of two days, and centers on the brief affair between Elle (Emmanuelle Riva), a French actress making a film about Hiroshima, and Lui (Eiji Okada), a Japanese architect. Lui wishes to prolong the liaison, but Elle refuses, eventually telling him a tragic tale about a German soldier she had loved who was killed, and her subsequent mental breakdown after being locked up in a basement by her outraged parents. Although the two principals are both married, they are clearly very much drawn toward one another--yet, history stands between them like an impenetrable wall. Sporting a solid DVD transfer, this Criterion Collection release also boasts some notable extras, including a characteristically rich and informative commentary track by film historian Peter Cowie, approximately 45 minutes worth of interviews with Resnais (archival) and Riva (archival and present day), a nine-minute montage of Duras's screenplay annotations narrated over clips from the film, and a handsome 32-page illustrated booklet. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—July 14, 2015—Criterion, 90 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1959's Hiroshima Mon Amour features a great transfer and an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by film historian Peter Cowie, interviews with film scholar François Thomas (27 min.), actress Emmanuelle Riva from 1959 and 2003 (26 min.), and director Alain Resnais from 1961 and 1980 (17 min.), the 2013 restoration segment “Revoir Hiroshima…” (12 min.), a new interview with music scholar Tim Page (11 min.), and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones and excerpts from a 1959 Cahiers du cinéma roundtable discussion. Bottom line: a landmark foreign classic shines on Blu-ray.]