To even talk of a story is nonsensical, since a central aesthetic of the film involves the effects of fantasy, time and subjective memory on human consciousness. Marienbad takes place in a heightened, sci-fi nightmare world where knowing, believing
Last Year at Marienbad
Extraordinary! Hypnotic! Beautiful! Masterful!
1961 · 1h 35m · Not Rated
Drama, Romance
Directed by
Alain Resnais
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Last Year at Marienbad
Overview
At a weekend gathering, a man tells a woman that they had spent time there together a year prior. But, the woman has no recollection whatsoever and is convinced that he is simply fabricating the encounter. The more he speaks about their activities the previous year however, the more compelling he becomes. The question remains however – did they meet previously or not?
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Marienbad is elegantly hermetic, a ravishing waxworks that has stillness at its heart.
Remains one of cinema's glorious enigmas, endlessly compelling and intriguing.
The movie is what it is -- a sustained mood, an empty allegory, a choreographed moment outside of time, and a shocking intimation of perfection.
The film's dreamlike cadences, frozen tableaux, and distilled surrealist poetry are too eerie, too terrifying even, to be shaken off as camp. For all its notoriety, this masterpiece among masterpieces has never really received its due.
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