Alain Resnais' 1963 film surpasses his better-known
Last Year at Marienbad and
Hiroshima, mon amour in terms of intricacy of construction and sensitivity to shades of memory and regret. Delphine Seyrig is a widow living in the provinces with her troubled stepson (Jean-Baptiste Thierree), a veteran of the Algerian war who can't escape the memory of a young girl he tortured and killed. When Seyrig's former lover (Jean-Pierre Kerien) turns up with his new mistress, Seyrig, too, is plunged into an obsession with the past. A subtle, precise, and wrenching film, shot largely without recourse to the stylistic flourishes that made Resnais' reputation. 115 min.
By
Dave Kehr
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