HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR / INDIA SONG

ABOUT THE FILMS

HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR, 1959, Rialto Pictures, 91 min, France, Japan, Dir: Alain Resnais.

A one-night stand between a young French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) brings back the memory of Riva’s first impossible love in wartime France, her intense pain at the death of her German lover, and her punishment for sexual collaboration with the enemy. Brilliantly written by Marguerite Duras, director Alain Resnais’ first feature remains a high point in French cinema of the 1950s, and one of the most devastating love stories ever put on film. “Once you’ve seen HIROSHIMA it becomes impossible to make movies the way you used to.” – Francois Truffaut.

FORMAT: DCP

INDIA SONG, 1975, Janus Films, 120 min, France Dir: Marguerite Duras.

Based on an unproduced play by Duras, INDIA SONG is a haunting portrait of French colonialism in decline and one of the writer-director’s signature films. César nominee Delphine Seyrig stars as Anne-Marie Stretter, whose ambassador husband turns a blind eye to her many affairs – though the affection of a disgraced Vice-Consul (Michael Lonsdale) threatens the status quo. Set in 1930s Calcutta, much of the film was shot near Paris at the Château Rothschild, which was then in a state of disrepair that suited the film’s themes perfectly.

FORMAT: 35mm