I haven't really been watching things lately. I just haven't had the time. Though I have been thinking about it here and there, and stumbling across Last Year at Marienbad online made me instantly curious about the film, I saw stills that had me captivated, frames and an aspect ratio that looks visually appealing. And after a quick read on its more dream-like narrative structure, I knew I had to watch it, and so I did yesterday evening. I love films like these, ones that genuinely feel like you've been pulled into a dream-like state, another world in which things are similar but not quite as they seem. To add, Last Year at Marienbad is repetitive, with cinematography that weaves into architectural spaces with an anamorphic aspect ratio that is wide and beautiful. It really is like you've closed your eyes and entered a story that has no real structure to it.
That's where this story does come in: a hotel for the elites in the 60s, a man seeing a woman he believes he has seen before. A woman to which he had an affair with, claiming that the two fell in love a year prior and agreed to meet a year later but never did. Though their paths have since crossed again, or so he claims. The woman is at the hotel with her partner, though she claims none of this is true and that they've never met. The whole film basically being a jump between past and present as the man tells the stories of their supposed previous encounter. Attempting to refresh her memory and the emotions that were felt. Utilising a repetitive set of dialogue, and environments within the hotel space to connect these emotions and claims. The film feels still, but in constant motion. Dolly shots with interiors, reflections within the beautiful designed interiors. A gentle way of speaking through the dialogue that feels cold and nostalgic.
This is an art film to say the least. A film that takes into consideration every composition. Moving the camera when necessary. Taking advantage of symmetry within the beautiful architecture, but also knowing when to stay still. It reflects this feeling of the man's emotions, the attempts to revive the love he claims to have felt and exists, while the woman constantly denies it all, leading back to that initial beginning: the memories. The stories of the past. Everything remains in one place due to that constant disconnect between these two characters. And we, the audience, are never sure whether it's true or not. Whether one is telling the truth or the other is lying. And it feels regretful in its moments, as if a love was lost.
I haven't seen a film quite like this in a while, and I loved that it was shot back in the 60s and with black and white film stock, I don't think it would've had that same atmosphere on colour. Even with the aspect ratio, it gave me a little bit of a La Dolce Vita feeling to it. Though definitely more Avant-garde.