Cinema
Last Year at Marienbad
L'Année dernière à Marienbad
Alain Resnais · 1961
Synopsis
In a vast château turned hotel, where an elegant clientele passes the time in a hushed atmosphere, a man approaches a woman and tells her that they met the previous year, at Marienbad perhaps, and that they loved each other. She says she does not know him, and he tries to convince her. Another man, who may be the woman's husband, beats the first at every game of Nim.
Context
Alain Robbe-Grillet's screenplay specified in advance the dialogue, the gestures, the position of the camera and the editing. The shoot, in black and white, took place in castles in Bavaria, including Nymphenburg and Schleissheim, and in a Parisian studio; no scene was shot in Marienbad. In the garden, the characters' shadows were painted on the ground. Delphine Seyrig wears dresses designed by Chanel. The film won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1961.
Who it is for
Ninety-four minutes, with no story that can be reconstructed: it is watched as an enigma that does not yield its key.
Prizes and reception
Robbe-Grillet was nominated for the Oscar for best original screenplay; the film remains one of the most discussed of its director.
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