GRADE: 9
Anne-Marie Stretter, wife of a French diplomat, lives in 1930s India. She takes many lovers as systems of oppression decay around her.
Director: Marguerite Duras
Country of Origin: France
THOUGHTS:
Dephine Seyrig starring in a puzzle film that infuses Last Year at Marienbad‘s experimentation with Marguerite Duras’ sensuality seemed like something I’d give an instant 10 to. But while the sensory experience, with its long, languid shots and voice-over narratives was instantly mesmerizing, the film does ultimately test one’s patience and feels a little longer than it needed to be. Still, the film combines the nouveau roman with cinematic poetry in a way that feels almost entirely original. And its story of desperate colonialists coping with their ennui and eventual collapse haunts like a ghost story.