Muriel

Synopsis:
In the haunting drama "Muriel," French filmmaker Alan Resnais continues his exploration of and fascination with memory and the impact of past events on people's present lives. Helene is a lonely widow who lives with her stepson, Bernard, in Boulogne. Into their lives walk Alphonse, a lover from her past, and Francoise, who he claims is his niece but is actually his mistress. While Helene and Alphonse are obsessed with their past relationship, Bernard is troubled by his memory of a girl whose brutal death he witnessed while he was fighting in the Algerian War. As in his prior films, Resnais tells the story in a dream-like, stylized fashion.

Notes:
A co-production of Argos Films, Alpha Productions, Eclair, Les Films de la Pleiade (Paris) and Dear Films (Rome). Shot in Eastmancolor. The film was shown at the Venice Film Festival in August of 1963, where Delphine Seyrig was named Best Actress. It was also shown at the New York Film Festival. Copyright 1993 Hen's Tooth Video, Inc.

Reviews:
"[F]ew films have ever been so devoted to re-creating the painful shifts of memory, as it continually moves from one temporal plane to the next." - 03/01/2007 Film Comment, p.76

"From today's perspective MURIAL looks like the highest accomplishment of his early work." - 04/06/2007 New York Times, p.E6

"Dense and challenging but also potent and accessible, it virtually demands repeat viewings." - 06/01/2007 Sight and Sound, p.90