Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)

A French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war.

Director:

Alain Resnais

Writers:

Marguerite Duras (dialogue), Marguerite Duras (scenario)

Stars:

Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Emmanuelle Riva	...	Elle (as Emmanuele Riva)
Eiji Okada	...	Lui
Stella Dassas	...	Mother
Pierre Barbaud	...	Father
Bernard Fresson	...	German Lover

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

memory | atomic bomb | impossible love | nuclear bomb | oblivion | 

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Taglines:

When God's silence falls upon men.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Title translation: "Hiroshima, My Love". Hiroshima is the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan.

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Goofs

After they leave the teahouse, a shot from the side shows Lui standing behind Elle to her left with a gap of about a foot and a half. The next frontal shot shows him standing directly behind her with only a small gap between them.

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Quotes

Lui: Perhaps I was dreaming, without realizing it.

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Connections

Referenced in How Is It Going? (1976)

User Reviews

The Seminal Film for Change

One would hope a film like this would actually cause humankind to take a step back and to foster the destruction of destruction itself. As Duras noted many years later in her semi-autobiographical "The Lover," she made the distinction early on between those who would exploit and destroy the weak and those who would protect them.

Here we have the exponential dynamic of this distinction in spades, realized in unthinkably tragic dimensions. Put in the simplest terms, "Hiroshima" is war personalized and psychologized in the language of love. It is the lovers' dialogue that begins to rouse the past; it is within the protective bond of love that atrocities can be drawn forth.

It is better to simply see the film than to depend on any synopsis. Once you do, its "medicine" will work within you --- and the medicine to which I refer is love.

Details

Country:

France Japan

Language:

French Japanese English

Release Date:

16 May 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hiroshima Mon Amour

Filming Locations:

3bis Place de la République, Nevers, Nièvre, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,494, 19 October 2014

Gross USA:

$96,439

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$99,632

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films, Como Films, Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1