Hiroshima Mon Amour
Encyclopedia
Hiroshima mon amour is an acclaimed 1959
drama film
directed by French
film director
Alain Resnais
, with a screenplay by Marguerite Duras
. It is the documentation of an intensely personal conversation between a French-Japanese couple about memory and forgetfulness. It was a major catalyst for the Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave), making highly innovative use of miniature flashback
s to create a uniquely nonlinear storyline.
The title literally translates from French to English as 'Hiroshima, My Love', though the film is almost always referred to by its original French title.
), referred to as she, and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada
), referred to as him. They have had a brief relationship, and are now separating. The two debate memory and forgetfulness as She prepares to depart, comparing failed relationships with the bombing of Hiroshima, and the perspectives of people inside and outside the incidents. The early part of the film recounts, in the style of a documentary, but narrated by the so far completely unidentified characters, the effects of the Hiroshima bomb
on August 6, 1945, in particular the loss of hair and the complete anonymity of the remains of some victims. He had been conscripted
into the Japanese army, and his family was in Hiroshima on that day.
The film uses highly structured, repetitive dialogue, mostly consisting of Her narration, with Him interjecting to say she is wrong, lying, confused, or to deny and contradict her statements with the film's famous line "You are not endowed with memory". Although He disagrees and rejects many of the things She says, he pursues her constantly. The film is peppered with dozens of brief flashbacks to Her life; as a youth, she was shamed and had her head shaved as shaming and punishment for having a love affair with a German soldier, which she juxtaposes with the loss of the hair "which the women of Hiroshima will find has fallen out in the morning."
, Resnais was originally commissioned to make a short documentary about the atomic bomb, but spent several months confused about how to proceed because he did not want to recreate his 1955 Holocaust documentary Night and Fog
. He later went to his producer and joked that the film could not be done unless Marguerite Duras
was involved in writing the screenplay.
The film was a co-production by companies from both Japan
and France
. The producers stipulated that one main character must be French and the other be Japanese, and also required that the film be shot in both countries employing film crews comprising technicians from each.
, as well as a special award at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
, where the film was excluded from the official selection because of its sensitive subject matter as well as to avoid upsetting the U.S. government.
Hiroshima mon amour has been described as "The Birth of a Nation of the French New Wave
" by American critic Leonard Maltin
. New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard
described the film's inventiveness as "Faulkner
plus Stravinsky" and celebrated its originality, calling it "the first film without any cinematic references". Filmmaker Eric Rohmer
said, "I think that in a few years, in ten, twenty, or thirty years, we will know whether Hiroshima mon amour was the most important film since the war, the first modern film of sound cinema".
Among the film's innovations is Resnais' experiments with very brief flashback sequences intercut into scenes to suggest the idea of a brief flash of memory. Resnais later used similar effects in Last Year at Marienbad
.
:
tells in an entry for 25 January 1960 of seeing the film in Tokyo
and remarks on various distracting (for the Japanese) cultural errors which Resnais made. He notes, for example, that the Japanese-language arrival and departure time announcements in the train scenes bear no relation to the time of day in which the scenes are set. Also, people pass through noren
curtains into shops which are supposedly closed. The noren is a traditional sign that a shop is open for business and is invariably taken down at closing time.
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
, with a screenplay by Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
. It is the documentation of an intensely personal conversation between a French-Japanese couple about memory and forgetfulness. It was a major catalyst for the Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave), making highly innovative use of miniature flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s to create a uniquely nonlinear storyline.
The title literally translates from French to English as 'Hiroshima, My Love', though the film is almost always referred to by its original French title.
Plot
Hiroshima mon amour concerns a series of conversations (or one enormous conversation) over a 36-hour long period between a French actress (Emmanuelle RivaEmmanuelle Riva
Emmanuelle Riva is a French actress.Riva started her acting career on the Paris stage after having worked as a seamstress...
), referred to as she, and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada
Eiji Okada
Eiji Okada was a Japanese film actor. Okada served in the Japanese army during World War II, and was a miner and traveling salesman before becoming an actor....
), referred to as him. They have had a brief relationship, and are now separating. The two debate memory and forgetfulness as She prepares to depart, comparing failed relationships with the bombing of Hiroshima, and the perspectives of people inside and outside the incidents. The early part of the film recounts, in the style of a documentary, but narrated by the so far completely unidentified characters, the effects of the Hiroshima bomb
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
on August 6, 1945, in particular the loss of hair and the complete anonymity of the remains of some victims. He had been conscripted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
into the Japanese army, and his family was in Hiroshima on that day.
The film uses highly structured, repetitive dialogue, mostly consisting of Her narration, with Him interjecting to say she is wrong, lying, confused, or to deny and contradict her statements with the film's famous line "You are not endowed with memory". Although He disagrees and rejects many of the things She says, he pursues her constantly. The film is peppered with dozens of brief flashbacks to Her life; as a youth, she was shamed and had her head shaved as shaming and punishment for having a love affair with a German soldier, which she juxtaposes with the loss of the hair "which the women of Hiroshima will find has fallen out in the morning."
Cast
- Emmanuelle RivaEmmanuelle RivaEmmanuelle Riva is a French actress.Riva started her acting career on the Paris stage after having worked as a seamstress...
as Elle - Eiji OkadaEiji OkadaEiji Okada was a Japanese film actor. Okada served in the Japanese army during World War II, and was a miner and traveling salesman before becoming an actor....
as Lui - Bernard FressonBernard FressonBernard Fresson was a French cinema actor. He starred in over 160 films. Some of his notable roles include: Javert in the 1972 mini-series version of Les Misérables, Inspector Barthelmy in John Frankenheimer's French Connection II , Scope in Roman Polanski's The Tenant , Gilbert in Lover Boy , and...
as L'Allemand - Stella Dassas as La Mère
- Pierre Barbaud as Le Père
Production
According to James MonacoJames Monaco
James Monaco is an American film critic, author, publisher, and educator.He has written seven books, including The New Wave : Truffaut, Godard, Chabrol, Rohmer, Rivette , How To Read A Film and American Film Now , and edited four others.He founded Baseline in 1982, an early online database about...
, Resnais was originally commissioned to make a short documentary about the atomic bomb, but spent several months confused about how to proceed because he did not want to recreate his 1955 Holocaust documentary Night and Fog
Night and Fog (film)
Night and Fog is a 1955 French documentary short film. Directed by Alain Resnais, it was made ten years after the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. The documentary features the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz and Majdanek while describing the lives of prisoners in the camps. Night and Fog was...
. He later went to his producer and joked that the film could not be done unless Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
was involved in writing the screenplay.
The film was a co-production by companies from both Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The producers stipulated that one main character must be French and the other be Japanese, and also required that the film be shot in both countries employing film crews comprising technicians from each.
Reception
Hiroshima mon amour earned an Oscar nomination for screenwriter Marguerite DurasMarguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
, as well as a special award at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
1959 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Marcel Achard *Antoni Bohdziewicz *Michael Cacoyannis *Carlos Cuenca *Pierre Daninos *Julien Duvivier *Max Favalelli *Gene Kelly *Carlo Ponti *Micheline Presle...
, where the film was excluded from the official selection because of its sensitive subject matter as well as to avoid upsetting the U.S. government.
Hiroshima mon amour has been described as "The Birth of a Nation of the French New Wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
" by American critic Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
. New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
described the film's inventiveness as "Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
plus Stravinsky" and celebrated its originality, calling it "the first film without any cinematic references". Filmmaker Eric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma....
said, "I think that in a few years, in ten, twenty, or thirty years, we will know whether Hiroshima mon amour was the most important film since the war, the first modern film of sound cinema".
Among the film's innovations is Resnais' experiments with very brief flashback sequences intercut into scenes to suggest the idea of a brief flash of memory. Resnais later used similar effects in Last Year at Marienbad
Last Year at Marienbad
L'Année dernière à Marienbad is a 1961 French film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Alain Robbe-Grillet....
.
Film references
In his book on Resnais, James Monaco ends his chapter on Hiroshima mon amour by claiming that the film contains a reference to the classic 1942 film CasablancaCasablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
:
Cultural errors
In Japan Journals: 1947-2004, film historian Donald RichieDonald Richie
Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...
tells in an entry for 25 January 1960 of seeing the film in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and remarks on various distracting (for the Japanese) cultural errors which Resnais made. He notes, for example, that the Japanese-language arrival and departure time announcements in the train scenes bear no relation to the time of day in which the scenes are set. Also, people pass through noren
Noren
Noren are traditional Japanese fabric dividers, hung between rooms, on walls, in doorways, or in windows. They usually have one or more vertical slits cut from the bottom to nearly the top of the fabric, allowing for easier passage or viewing...
curtains into shops which are supposedly closed. The noren is a traditional sign that a shop is open for business and is invariably taken down at closing time.
Music
- The film has inspired several songs. One was written by John FoxxJohn FoxxJohn Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
and Billy CurrieBilly CurrieBilly Currie is an English violist, violinist, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter...
, and initially recorded and performed by their band Ultravox! in 1977. One recorded version of the song is a romantic electronicElectronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
ballad, notable for showcasing an early use of the RolandRoland Corporationis a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
TR-77Roland Rhythm 77The Roland Rhythm 77 drum machine was Roland's first product - released in 1972. It is actually an updated and relabelled Rhythm Ace FR-8L...
drum machineDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
in popular music. Ultravox! also recorded a different arrangement of the song, in an aggressive punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
style. This version was covered by the band The ChurchThe Church (band)The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
on their all covers, garage inspired album "A Box Of Birds" (1999). A more recent version in-between the two styles was recorded and released by Jan LintonJan LintonJan Linton is a singer, musician and producer from Warrington, England, who helped internationalize the music scene in Tokyo, Japan.-Biography:...
(under the name dr jan guru)in 2004. - The heavy metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band AlcatrazzAlcatrazzAlcatrazz is an American heavy metal band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo and Gary Shea.-History:The band's initial line-up consisted of former Rainbow frontman Graham Bonnet, young Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen who had recently left American band Steeler, Gary Shea and Jimmy...
also recorded a song titled "Hiroshima Mon Amour" on their debut album, No Parole from Rock N' RollNo Parole from Rock N' RollNo Parole From Rock 'n' Roll was the first album released by Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz. It spent seven weeks on the Billboard chart, peaking at #128. Considered by many to be the best Alcatrazz release and launched Yngwie J. Malmsteen into a glittering solo career. Most famous for the single...
.
- In 2003, the New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based no waveNo WaveNo Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
band My Favorite released "Burning Hearts," which draws upon the main characters in the film.
- Punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The (International) Noise ConspiracyThe (International) Noise ConspiracyThe Noise Conspiracy is a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén , Inge Johansson , Lars Strömberg , and Ludwig Dahlberg . The band is known for its punk and garage rock musical influences, and its impassioned left-wing political stance...
's album The Cross of My CallingThe Cross of My CallingThe Cross of My Calling is an album by The Noise Conspiracy. It was recorded at Sunset Sound in Hollywood and is their second full-length album with legendary producer Rick Rubin. It was released through Vagrant/American Recordings on November 25th, 2008 in the US and through Burning Heart on...
features a song entitled "Hiroshima Mon Amour."
- In 2002, Bryan FerryBryan FerryBryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
released the album FranticFrantic (album)Frantic is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in 2002. It was co-produced by Rhett Davies, Colin Good, and Bryan Ferry.- Track listing :#"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" #"Cruel"...
which includes the song "Hiroshima", where the chorus includes the full sentence of "Hiroshima Mon Amour".
Film
- In 2001, JapaneseCinema of JapanThe has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
film directorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Nobuhiro SuwaNobuhiro Suwais a Japanese film director working in Japan and France. His directorial works and screenplays often make use of improvisation techniques. Currently, Suwa is the President of Tokyo Zokei University.-Biography:...
directed a remakeRemakeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
, titled H StoryH StoryH Story is a 2001 Japanese drama film directed by Nobuhiro Suwa. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival...
.
- In 2003, IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian film director Bahman Pour-Azar released Where Or WhenWhere Or When (film)Where or When is a 2008 film by Iranian film director Bahman Pour-Azar. He co-wrote the film script with Jun Kim over seven years, but shot the entire movie in less than a week at various locations in both New York and New Jersey...
. The 85-minute film places Pour-Azar's characters in the same circumstances as Resnais' nearly a half century earlier. However, the current global tension of today's world is the backdrop instead of post-war Hiroshima. When screening the film, Stuart Alson, who founded the New York International Independent Film and Video FestivalNew York International Independent Film and Video FestivalNew York International Independent Film and Video Festival is a film screening event in various American cities. It was founded in 1993, and its website claims it has been recognized by the film and entertainment industry as one of the leading film events on the independent festival circuit...
, said that the piece was "a parallel line of work with the French masterpiece "Hiroshima mon amour".