20 October 2019

Hiroshima Mon Amour (France/Japan, 1959)

A French woman and a Japanese man have an affair while she is in Japan making a film about peace and the impact of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, The man, an architect, lost his family in the bombing. She recalls her lover during the war, a 23 year-old German soldier who later died. Despite the time they spend together, her attachment appears minimal and they go forward into the future.

Given that I have a seemingly insatiable fascination and interest in the atomic bombings during WWII, Hiroshima Mon Amour feels like one of the essential classics. The film pioneered the idea of having flashbacks to create a nonlinear storyline, and when we're taken back to the destruction and burning fields of Hiroshima it's done with stark realism and nothing sugar coated. It's also wild to see the place a couple of years after the explosion in scenes taking place around the wounded city. 

Genre: Drama/Romance

No comments:

Post a Comment