Trailer Tuesday - Last Year in Marienbad

When I was in London earlier this month, I found out about the tribute season to Alan Resnais at the BFI (I wish I can live at the BFI!). The screening schedule included Last Year in Marienbad (L’Année dernière à Marienbad), which is also celebrating 50 years this year.

I could not pass the chance of watching this film which has been described as "there is, quite simply, no other movie like it".  It does look sublime and yes, I can't think of another film like it. It's up to the viewer to decide what's real and what isn't. It was a pleasure to watch. So here's a little taster.

To know more about this film and Alan Resnais, I suggest you read this essay by Mark Polizzotti, "Last Year at Marienbad: Which Year at Where?".

Synopsis via BFI

Defining the words 'art film' for a generation, Marienbad is every bit as extraordinary today as when it was premiered in Venice, 50 years ago this August. The plot is banal and, as in Hiroshima, the characters have no names. X (Albertazzi) pursues A (Seyrig) through the endless corridors of a luxury hotel, trying to persuade her that they met last year, while M (Pitoëff), who may be A's husband, looks on. But, in the eternal present of Robbe-Grillet's screenplay, drenched in the organ score by Francis Seyrig (brother of Delphine), there can be no 'last year' (and probably no future either). Don't miss the chance to see this timeless masterpiece on the big screen, for which the inky blacks and flaring whites of Sacha Vierny's cinematography were made. There is, quite simply, no other movie like it.

www.criterion.com/films/1517-last-year-at-marienbad
www.bfi.org.uk

Image via criterion.com

For the love of film - Women from old days of yore

For this last post that is part of the For the love of film blogathon, I am sharing three clips, also from the BFI Archive, dedicated to the women from the days of yore. Entertaining and also interesting to see how much has changed and yet in some aspects, some things are still the same.

The first clip shows Victorian women demonstrating their cycling skills. Not clear what was the objective of this film, but great too see how they pulled it off despite their long skirts.

This clip shows an alternative to girls sending out Valentine greetings, the “Kiss Valentine” – send one with an imprint of a lipstick instead of the traditional valentine card.

This last clip, and my favourite (can I confess I love their swimsuits?), shows girls frolicking around a pool. It’s like a 1920’s version of girls gone wild. Not too sure what was the objective of this film, but I wonder if this was an excuse for a bunch of men to film some girls by the poolside.

If you are interested, here are links to read my previous posts for this blogathon:
For the love of film - Tibet
For the love of film - The Open Road
For the love of film - The smallest car in the largest city in the world
For the love of film - Preservation of film

This final post is part of the For the Love of Film Blogathon, hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren and sponsored by The National Film Preservation Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America’s film heritage. They work directly with archives to rescue endangered films that will not survive without public support. Please donate.

Related links:
www.selfstyledsiren.blogspot.com
www.ferdyonfilms.com
www.filmpreservation.org
For the Love of Film blog
For the Love of Film on Facebook
BFI National Archive

For the love of film - Tibet

The Lost World of Tibet is another gem from the BFI Archive, a film series shot in Tibet in the 1940s, before the Chinese occupation. It includes some great footage of the Dalai Lama as a child and other scenes like traditional ceremonies, street life, children playing - showing a Tibet that is no more. 

This clip shows footage of the current Dalai Lama (then still a very young boy) and his family. It includes a procession of high-ranking men and women, followed by a procession with the Dalai Lama in a golden palanquin (his presence indicated by the peacock feather umbrella being carried alongside). The video ends with an adorable scene of children paying on a frozen lake in Lhasa.

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For the love of film - The Open Road

 

A 'cinematic postcard of Britain in the 1920s', The Open Road is a very charming and this one is in colour. More clips are added below. Enjoy.

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For the love of film - The smallest car in the largest city in the world

Being from Dubai, a city that always like to promote the biggest and tallest, I was delighted to see this gem  called 'The smallest car in the largest city in the world', filmed in London in 1913. Please watch it till the end, it is just over 6 mins long. It is too adorable, even though it was made and used for promotional purposes at the time by the car manufacturing company.

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