Muriel, or the Time of Return (1963)

In the seaside town of Boulogne, no one seems to be able to cope with their past, least of all Hélène, an antique furniture saleswoman, her stepson Bernard, and her former lover Alphonse.

Director:

Alain Resnais

Writer:

Jean Cayrol (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Nita Klein

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Delphine Seyrig	...	Hélène Aughain
Jean-Pierre Kérien	...	Alphonse Noyard
Nita Klein	...	Françoise
Jean-Baptiste Thiérrée	...	Bernard Aughain (as Jean-Baptiste Thierrée)
Claude Sainval	...	Roland de Smoke
Laurence Badie	...	Claudie
Jean Champion	...	Ernest
Jean Dasté	...	L'homme à la chèvre / The Goat Man
Martine Vatel	...	Marie-Dominique, aka Marie-Do
Julien Verdier	...	Le loueur de chevaux / The Stableman
Philippe Laudenbach	...	Robert
Nelly Borgeaud	...	La femme du couple d'acheteurs
Catherine de Seynes	...	Angèle
Gaston Joly	...	Antoine, le tailleur / Antoine the Tailor
Gérard Lorin	...	Marc

Storyline

In the seacoast town of Boulogne, Hélène sells antique furniture, living with her step-son, Bernard, who's back from military duty in Algiers. An old lover of Hélène's comes to visit - Alphonse - with his niece Françoise; he too is back from Algiers, where he ran a café. Bernard speaks of his fiancée, Muriel, whom Hélène has not met. The narrative, like memory and intention, is jumpy, the past obscured by guilt, misperceptions, and missed possibilities. Appearances deceive, things change. As Hélène and Alphonse try to sort out a renewal, everyone seems off-kilter just enough to hint that all cannot end well. Can anyone know another?

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Plot Keywords:

antique furniture | memory | nouvelle vague | french new wave | death | 

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Taglines:

Delphine Seyrig - Volpi Prize Best Acrtess Venice Film Festival 1963

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

When polled by the AFI filmmaker Randa Haines named "Muriel" as her all-time favorite film.

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Connections

References The Woman from the End of the World (1938)

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Soundtracks

Sujux Day
By Georges Delerue

User Reviews

Alain Resnais 2nd or 3rd important film. this film still lingers after 40 years of being made.

Muriel (Muriel ou Le temps d'un retour) Muriel, or The Time of Return 1963 In the seacoast town of Boulogne, Hélène sells antique furniture, living with her step-son, Bernard, who's back from military duty in Algiers. An old lover of Hélène's comes to visit - Alphonse - with his niece Françoise; he too is back from Algiers, where he ran a café. Bernard speaks of his fiancée, Muriel, whom Hélène has not met. The narrative, like memory & intention, is jumpy; the past obscured by guilt, misperceptions, & missed possibilities. Appearances deceive, things change. As Hélène & Alphonse try to sort out a renewal, everyone seems off-kilter just enough to hint that all cannot end well. Can anyone know another? Delphine Seyrig won a Volpi Cup for best actress at the 1963 Venice Film Festival. The film was nominated for a Golden Lion. I only recently heard about Resnais while reading up on new foreign films not release here in USA (or in limited release) His new film is Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grass) which won a lot acclaim at Cannes & other festivals this year. Muriel is a film that is about thinking about past times. I Interesting exploration of memory/existentialism. It is also a film about madness. Several of the characters appear to be mad ( or more than mildly eccentric in many ways. ) As a film maker I find his French new wave & camera techniques & storytelling very fresh & inventive. This is my first film of his to view I have ordered most all except the one that bombed. (I Want to go home) I guess if you are not one of the art film crowd the movie will be too choppy & weird for you. I think I will watch it again this weekend. I found it intriguing. I loved the opera arias interspersed with the odd ball Avant garde jazz. Strange tale strange music strange story strange film making techniques. I LOVED THIS FILM. One problem on my disc some of the subtitles hung & I missed the conversation in a few scenes then they would come back on again. I am looking for the script to the movie or the full subtitles. Resnais's images are never quite as striking in this film as they were with a limited color palette (in some of his other films) Sacha Vierny creates some gorgeous Antonioni-like shots of landscapes and architecture.

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

13 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Muriel, or the Time of Return

Filming Locations:

Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films, Alpha Productions, Eclair

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1