The same conversations were always repeated

LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD (1961)

Try to imagine David Lynch, Jean-Luc Godard and Giorgio de Chirico teaming up to remake Christopher Nolan’s Memento. The result could be convoluted, but captivating, and that’s essentially how I view Alain Resnais’ design for this drastically surreal tale of star-crossed lovers, upper-class spite, and pined-after liberation. Admittedly, I was fully prepared to dose off during the French auteur’s complex mystery – which is considered by many to be "one of the most boring movies of all time" – but once the characters were more or less introduced, I was too busy trying to dissect their history and comprehend the odd science of Resnais’ invention. His enigmatic setup is almost Kubrickian in detail, and of course while Kubrick came later with career landmarks 2001 and A Clockwork Orange, I couldn’t help but pick up on possible influences drawn from this film: the tracking shots, classical music, vast interiors and ambiguous imagery all struck me as tinges of Kubrick’s respective style. Sure, the film is incredibly artsy, but the pretensions eventually dissolve and we’re left with the framework of a familiar love story that I found quite accessible.

I suppose I should start off by tackling moviegoers’ misconception of Marienbad as “dull and pretentious”, because while the opening may be a bit off-putting – a near inaudible narrator fading in and out of repetitive sentences – and the plot may run exceptionally slow, the film has a lot to offer given the proper insight. Perhaps the “dull” remarks stem from the story’s drab interplay between our two unnamed characters; a man and a woman referred to as X and A respectively. The story is set within an extravagant chateau, presumably in Marienbad, decorated with baroque ornaments, elaborate furniture and soulless butlers. Our two main characters happen to be guests at a social gathering in this maze of corridors exclusive to the upper-crust and full of “fun and games” only these stuffy aristocrat-types could appreciate. The chief protagonist – Mr. X – finds his fellow guests shallow and uninteresting, so he pursues after a woman – Ms. A – who he claims to have trysted with last year at Marienbad – clever. Ms. A, however, doesn’t recall Mr. X or any affair with the man, yet the persistent X basically stalks A until she cracks and acknowledges their past. We’re later introduced to her husband, and like a number of prototypical love stories, Mr. X sets out to thwart Ms. A’s domineering partner in games of Nim, rescue her from the oppressive upper-class, and then run off to live happily ever after. Standard formula, right? Essentially, but the way it’s told is pretty off-the-wall.

Here’s the problem most people have with Marienbad: it’s dialogue-heavy. The narrative vaguely drags the audience through obscure shifts in time and space, and what’s worse is that most viewers aren’t likely to be invested in these characters’ plight because – quite frankly – their plight isn’t all that relatable. Fair enough. On the subjective end, this film is a mystery, and like most mysteries, I found it incredibly interactive. The entire point is to investigate the characters presented and discern their motives. Resnais has intentionally molded this story into a disorienting muddle of events in order to confuse the audience. The objective then becomes assembling clues – as indistinct as they are – to approach some sort of revelation. With Marienbad, Resnais is simply trying to give our noggins a little workout; while tossing in some soap-opera fluff to atone for the loss brainpower. As far as I’m concerned, it works.

Solving Marienbad may be problematic, but interpreting it is duck soup considering there's no definitive explanation. For instance, I could infer that the chateau epitomizes limbo with no means of escape and I wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. The snobby guests of this colossal mansion are essentially trapped by their haughty delusions of happiness and have nothing to absorb themselves in besides tedious gossip and bland card games. Then there’s Marienbad’s two lovers, who are disillusioned by this world, yet are unable to break free from it, and in a way feel destined to it. They mostly fear the doldrums that their lifestyle entails as well as the likelihood of being metaphorically frozen in time like their peers.

In many ways, Marienbad reminds me of my experience with Inland Empire; hard to fully understand, but fun to interpret. Obviously not as schizophrenic as Lynch’s freakish thriller, Marienbad offers adequate storytelling and grandiose cinematography. Resnais’ narrative may be the film’s Achilles' heel, but at least he handles the plot in a way that doesn’t completely insult our intelligence.

8/10