I loved Alain Resnais's Night and Fog, so I was hoping for a lot coming into Last Year at Marienbad. I was terribly disappointed. I confess the majority of my disappointment was due to a difference in expectations. I assumed that the movie would tell a rather untraditional story in a traditional way and I would come out the theater having experienced extraordinary beauty and insight. Not so. The story followed a man trying to convince a woman that they met and had an affair a year before, perhaps at Marienbad. But the way the story was told was far from conventional. Through repetition, Resnais shows how easily memory can be distorted. His control over lighting and mood is spectacular. The cinematography and camera movements are reserved yet purposeful, creating a breathtaking and arresting visual style. There was one absolutely incredible part that I loved about an hour in (which I won't reveal) that dealt with repressed memories in the narrator as well as the listener. But the movie folds back in on itself, denying that idea almost as quickly as it introduces it. A hysterical, over-the-top organ dirge relentlessly backgrounds the piece, serving as a stark contrast to the slow, soothing, soporific visuals. I can't hate on it too much though, as its aggressively violent wails and screeches regularly woke me up after I had dozed off.
Much of the movie is simply too confusing and abstract to understand. Yes, it is technically competent and seductive, but so are perfume commercials. A good movie requires more; it requires a dialogue between the film and the audience. Unfortunately, I found very little that this movie could contribute. Yes, it is easy to dismiss something you don't understand, but it is equally easy and just as misguided to accept something obtuse and incomprehensible because you will appear smart and trendy. Most people who tout it are pretentious film snobs separated from reality. Only a few actually come away from the film with something meaningful. I am not one of them ... yet. I think with more viewings, I could appreciate what the film has to offer. And I really would like to see the movie a few more times, but as of an initial viewing, I cannot justifiably rate it higher than a 3.IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054632/