Hiroshima Mon Amour
Encyclopedia : H : HI : HIR : Hiroshima Mon Amour
Film
Alain Resnais' acclaimed film Hiroshima Mon Amour was released in 1959, and was called "The Birth of a Nation of the French New Wave (nouvelle vague)" by critic Leonard Maltin, because of its importance to the innovations of the movement. In addition, fellow French New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard described the film's inventiveness as "Faulkner plus Stravinsky" and "the first film without any cinematic references" [link]. It tells the story of a French woman (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese man (Eiji Okada) who meet and become lovers in post-war Hiroshima.The experiences during the Second World War of both characters are told in flashback form, juggling their horrendous experiences in the past with the current love story between the two protagonists. Director Alain Resnais' bold experiments in using flashback and sequencing was also used in his later masterpiece Last Year at Marienbad. It earned an Oscar nomination for screenwriter Marguerite Duras, as well as a special award at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival (it was excluded from official selection at the festival because of its sensitive subject matter as well as to avoid upsetting the U.S. government).
Song
The film also inspired a song of the same name, written by John Foxx & Billy Currie, and initially recorded and performed by their band Ultravox! in 1977. One recorded version of the song could best be described as a romantic electronic ballad, is notable for showcasing an early use of a drum machine (actually a Japanese Roland TR-77) in popular music. Ultravox! also recorded a different arrangement of the song, in an aggressive punk style. John Foxx has continued to perform the song live as a solo artist to the present day.Band
Name of a punk band from the heart of the Ruhrpott, Germany. Founded in 2005, "Hiroshima Mon Amour" have released their first record (together with "Shock Nagasaki" from NY) in 2006.External links
- [Kent Jones essay at criteronco.com]
- http://www.hiroshima-mon-amour.de
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