I had read about this before as being a highlight of French New Wave, which I am trying to familiarise myself with, and loving so far.
We see two lovers, one a French nurse, the other a Japanese soldier. They are in a romantic embrace, expressing their differeing opinions on the tragic WW2 Hiroshima bombing, one is very emotionally invested it seems, the other not atall. We follow them as they navigate their love affair, of which they have different intentions - interestingly the emotional party has become the unemotional when it comes to their relationship. The bombing provides something of a backdrop and story persoective, the indirect effects of which were touched upon and interesting, like the fear that food may be contaminated, or babies may be born with deformities.
The main focus story-wise is the dynamic between the two and the background of her upbringing in rural france. She is in control of the pair and is good at hiding the truth (most of the time) sometimes stringing him along. He is smitten and wears his heart on his sleeve, workinghard at impressing her. They have both gone through the same horrific event, and they deal with the traumatic experiences differently, we see how their memories live in the mind, even if they are well hidden.
I found this film, unsurprisingly for French New Wave, wasn't about the story as much as the visuals and overall effects - which suited me just fine (even if unfortunately, the low frame rate of some scenes made them look rather notchy - but as a purely technical issue this can be easily overlooked)
The first 15 minutes is mostly a powerful montage with images of the destruction, and victims, both injured and dead, of the frightening A-bomb reality. The imagery is uncommonly powerful and took all of my focus, so much so that the dialogue becomes narration, and the narration becomes soundtrack to the hypnotic imagery. This sequence is the star of the film and one of the most special I have seen of any film.
The last 15 minutes shows her mostly wandering around in the town of neon lights, which in a way was almost as powerful as the opening sequence (although not quite). It was shot so lushly, with many up shots capturing her and the backdrop of commercialism. It may even be more memorable than the heartbreaking opening.
I have previously written about the importance of rewatches in some cases, to compound and deepen your understanding of layered films.. and I think this applies to Hiroshima Mon Amour (English: Hiroshima My Love). I wouldn't be surprised if I was so taken with the visuals that I missed some deeper meanings or underlying metaphors - time will tell.
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