American filmmaking is mostly a history of linear storytelling denoting beginning, middle and end in films such as the Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, or Gone With the Wind. Films made during this time certainly created a standard for audiences to arrive to and expect a certain pattern. The 1960s saw a cultural shift with French filmmaker Jean Luc Godard who challenged the typical format with Breathless (1960) and A Woman Is A Woman (1961).
The film that disrupted conventions and is known as the driver of French New Wave is Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) by Alain Resnais. Hiroshima Mon Amour is about a love affair between a French woman and a Japanese architect after the Hiroshima bombing. The nonlinear storyline works to illustrate the harsh reality of love and forgetfulness during a time of war. It is important to follow film history enough to know how story affects our perceptions and how we view the silver screen. Most of the big changes in filmmaking have come from courageous directors like Resnais who took the risk that his film might be misunderstood. Check out this legendary film at SIFF Film Center in Queen Anne. Playing one week only, Friday, October 31 through November 6.
Hiroshima Mon Amour
SIFF Film Center (Seattle Center campus, near the corner of Warren Ave & Republican St).
Director: Alain Resnais
Cast: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 90 mins
Release Year: 1959
Country Of Origin: France, Japan