• Visually dazzling
• Unexcelled command of tone and mood
• Many find film intellectually and emotionally
engaging
Cons
• Many find film incomprehensible and pretentious
• Some will think pace too slow
• DVD provides no bonus materials of any significance
The Bottom Line -
For me, "Last Year at Marienbad" is both beautiful
and maddening. When I watched it recently on DVD, it rattled
around in my brain for days.
Product Description
•
DVD containing landmark French-language film "Last Year at Marienbad"
(1961)
•
Experimental movie that eschews conventional notions of plot and character
•
Filmmakers play around with time, space, memory, and perspective
Reviewed by Ivana Redwine
"Last Year at Marienbad" DVD
Set in a grand old European hotel in about 1960, "Last Year at
Marienbad" has three major characters: (1) the Narrator, the
man who is the protagonist and does the film's voice-over; (2) the
Woman, with whom the Narrator is obsessed; and (3) the Other Man,
with whom the Woman has come to the hotel. The Narrator repeatedly
tells the Woman they spent time together a year earlier and begs her
to come away with him. The Woman keeps saying she doesn't know what
he's talking about, but her demeanor often suggests otherwise. Meanwhile,
the presence of the Other Man at the hotel complicates life for both
the Woman and the Narrator. "Marienbad" has neither plot
nor character as traditionally understood, but I find it intellectually
and emotionally engaging. On one level, watching it makes me contemplate
the question: How do I "know" anything? On another level,
the film makes me conscious of my own confused emotions, conflicted
yearnings, and hazy memories.
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