Anthony Iessi "Hiroshima Mon Amour" is another bomb-centric, left-winged, political romance by "Nouvelle Vague" mainstay Alain Resnais. It centers on a young actress, landing a part in an anti-war picture being filmed in Hiroshima, Japan. Hiroshima, as you know, is the heart of the one of the world's most shocking attacks, the droppings of the atomic bomb, "Little Boy", by the United States of America. There, she meets a charming, dashing Japanese man, and by nightfall, they engage in hot, sparkly intercourse. As they make love, "She" keeps thinking of the tragedy of Hiroshima. "She" remembers being there. "She" remembers the children that died, the diseases that aroused, the buildings petrified and the shadows of the people that perished solidified in the ground below. "He" tries to figure out why she is saying such horrible things while lovemaking. Is it the fact that she's in an anti-war picture, or did she know about Hiroshima? After days of questioning and conversation, it is revealed that "She" has chosen to engage in such a love affair after losing her lover during the war, back in her home in Nevers, France. She was in love with a German soldier. Considering the political implications of what the Nazis did to France during WWII, her entire family was unbelievably outraged. They punished her by locking her underneath the house and shredding her beautiful hair to pieces. "She" is a rebel, and perhaps a traitor of her own country, but she did it out of love for her man. "She" and "He" bond over such an intimate, taboo tale and proceed to psychologically torture each other in furious, politically charged lust. Not only were they longing for each other, they were longing for revenge. "Hiroshima Mon Amour", is in essence, an open-handed slap in the face to allied powers of WWII. It's a message, not just of anti-nukes, but a complete rejection of national pride, in favor of lustful revenge. Resnais's political implications are brash to say the least, but through his anger at the destructive nature of the war, he constructed one of the most passionate, incredible love stories of all time. It's a romance of death. It's a movie that refuses to accept the sorrow around itself, and locks itself deep within the arms of the weak and powerless. Many people say that sleep is the best revenge and sometimes it's good living, but here, good loving. The performances sold the entire thing for me. Vastly overlooked for her performance is the lovely Emmanuelle Riva, as "She". Only now, as an elderly woman is she getting her award show dues, but what else can you expect from the Academy? They never recognize the best performances when they're right in front of them. I truly believed these two as lovers, and I wouldn't be any bit surprised if a real relationship budded behind the scenes.

Nicole C Honestly, I really really really want to like this film. It's a historical story, about two people from different backgrounds, in a city I'd love to visit. Even the title itself is so inviting and I was really excited to watch it. My exact reaction after the movie ended was: "What? Did anyone understand what was going on?" I watched it for a Film studies class, so was asking my fellow classmates, who seemed to be just as confused as I was.The acting from the start is a little awkward and static. I don't feel the connection between the two who are supposed to be in a romantic relationship and it seems like Elle has a little bit of a mental problem. She would suddenly just burst out at times. Maybe I'm just not romantic enough to like this but I was seriously in a little pain while watching this.I read an article by Jennifer Barker, in which she talks of phenomenology and the way that touch is used in this film to help Elle remember her traumatic past which in turn helps her to connect more to the incident of Hiroshima. Reading that, it all makes sense, but I would still rather read it than watch the movie. The article, probably because it was explaining the movie was so much clearer. I guess in a way I can see what the movie is doing, and maybe I just don't have the eye for detail but it went by too slowly for me.However the cinematography was pretty great, there was some great panning and tracking shots which helped to set the mood. Also, the juxtaposition with scenes of the past and the present was pretty well done, and was not confusing at all. Though the script does make it confusing in the present when Elle suddenly refers to Lui as her former lover.Read more movie reviews at: championangels.wordpress.com

Dalbert Pringle 1959's Hiroshima Mon Amour (HMA, for short) was kind of like watching 3 quite different movies all seemingly rolled up into one. (And, as it turned out, that wasn't necessarily a good thing) HMA certainly started off quite promising. It began as something of a pseudo-documentary that screened vintage, newsreel footage showcasing the devastating aftermath effects of the A-bomb once it had been dropped on the city of Hiroshima in 1945.I was actually quite shocked by these horrific images of burn-victims (and such) who managed to survive this monstrous blast of mass destruction.Following this startling and impressive opening sequence, HMA abruptly shifted gears as it morphed into a weepy, little Chick Flick, where (through flashbacks) Elle retold (in the minutest detail) the tragedy of her lost virginity and public humiliation at 18.You can be sure that after being witness to the visual horrors of Hiroshima, the recycled memories of Elle's deflowering seemed quite pathetic and almost laughable by comparison.Following this dragged-out episode (which took Elle a whole half hour to get it out of her system), HMA then "mutated" (literally) into a major "WTF!?" soap opera which highlighted Elle & Lui's puzzling, dime-store romance that was quickly coming to an end.This whole business had me wishing, and hoping, and praying that the ground would suddenly open up, swallow these 2, and, with that, promptly put this movie out of its pain and misery for good.Unless HMA was deliberately meant as some sort of weird audience-torture, I honestly don't see the point that French film-maker, Alain Resnais was trying to get across with this 3-in-1 cinematic montage. But, whatever it was, I'd say that he clearly missed the mark.

bandw I have avoided seeing this for several decades, mainly because I had been afraid to see it. The very word "Hiroshima" calls to my mind the horrific events of August 6, 1945. Having once seen scenes of the aftermath of the bombing on the civilian population, one is not anxious to revisit those. My reaction resonates perfectly with the two main themes of this movie: the inability to forget, and how important life events can easily slip into the fog of memory. Two phrases from the movie underline this duality, "memory, I banish you," and "the horror of forgetting." It *is* a horror to forget what happened to Hiroshima at the end of WWII. One would think that that memory would prevent anyone but the most insane politician from even contemplating the use of a nuclear weapon, but it's astonishing that the standoff between Kruschev and Kennedy brought us to the edge of nuclear war in 1962. Only seventeen years after Hiroshima the memory had faded to where it was not unthinkable to unleash a more potent hell.The city of Hiroshima provides the central backdrop. At the time this was filmed we see that the city has risen from the ashes in the fourteen years since its destruction. There are some stomach turning images shown from exhibits in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and seen during a peace parade, but this movie is not a documentary about the bombing, but rather a story overlaid on that background. The two main characters are a man and a woman who remain nameless throughout the movie. The woman (Emmanuelle Riva) is a French film star who has come to Hiroshima to make a peace movie. While there she meets a Japanese man (Eiji Okada) and they engage in a brief, passionate affair. Obviously the man has been wounded by the war, but the war has left the woman with painful memories as well--memories of pleasure that cause pain.The presentation is abstract and symbolic rather than realistic. For example, there is a scene that has the man and woman walking along the street at a slow pace where the man gradually falls behind and ultimately fades into the background. This scene is effective due to its deliberate pacing and emotional restraint rather than its realism. However, the arty production does not prevent the story from being accessible. The black and white filming is appropriate for the subject matter and is also a good choice since there are so many close-ups. I never know who should get credit for impressive cinematography, but acknowledgment should be given for that here.Both the leads turn in noteworthy performances. Riva is good at expressing her painful remembrances and Okada is more reserved, but no less passionate.I am glad to have finally seen this. I can now scratch it off of my "should see" list.