Nominees: Apur Sansar, Nazarin, North by Northwest, Anatomy of a Murder, The 400 Blows, Floating Weeds, Some Like it Hot, Rio Bravo, Room at the Top, Fires on the Plain, The Human Condition pts I & II
Oscars pick: Ben-Hur
Nominees: Anatomy of a Murder, Diary of Anne Frank, The Nuns Story, Room at the Top
On my first viewing, at the time, the only other Alain Resnais film I had seen previous to this was Last Year at Marienbad, which was great, but it didn’t really get under my skin. Hiroshima Mon Amour got under my skin. I had such a powerful emotional and intellectual reaction to this movie and its explorations of memories that linger, and those that slip away -of war and love lost and the scars they leave on a soul.
It was an innovative and vital piece of the French New Wave and centers on an intense affair between a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) and a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva). The two spend the day getting to know one another and working through their personal demons (especially the woman's).
There’s a lyrical quality to writer Marguerite Duras's dialogue, a thread of musicality woven throughout the picture. But it’s not like the nature-born poetry of Ray’s Pather Panchali. It's more exacting, structured - but beautiful none the less.
While Eiji is rock solid, the feature rests on Riva's capable shoulders. She gives a haunting performance in her film debut, when we first see her playful smile at the start, you can see how a man could instantly be drawn to her. But later a shadow falls over her face, and when she stares off into space it's as if she were stuck simultaneously in both the past and present - which is just what the director and writer wanted. It's astonishing work and her scenes really hit me hard.
In addition, I liked the use of dual cinematographers: Michio Takahashi in Japan and Sacha Vierny for the French locations. Each used different lenses and lighting techniques and such, which lends a distinct look to present and past. And the score, also provided by two (Georges Delerue and Giovanni Fusco) is a mix of the somber, the beautiful and the off kilter.
Other movies I liked: Fires on the Plain, Ballad of a Soldier, Ride Lonesome, Kiku and Isamu, Pickpocket, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Odds Against Tomorrow, Violent Summer, Sleeping Beauty and more. 1959 offered up a lot of treasures.
Honorable Mentions: Ganjiro Nakamura, Floating Weeds * Laurence Harvey, Room at the Top * Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon, Some Like it Hot * Cary Grant, North by Northwest * James Stewart, Anatomy of a Murder * John Wayne, Rio Bravo * Vittorio De Sica, General Della Rovere * Eiji Funakoshi, Fires on the Plain
Supporting Actor: Joseph Schildkraut, The Diary of Anne Frank
Honorable Mentions:
Machiko Kyo, Floating Weeds & Odd Obsession * Audrey Hepburn, The Nun’s Story * Marilyn Monroe, Some Like it Hot * Simone Signoret, Room at the Top * Lucyna Winnicka, Night Train * Juanita Moore & Susan Kohner, Imitation of Life
Supporting Actress: Zhanna Prokhorenko, Ballad of a Soldier (left)
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