Muriel
Studio: Koch Lorber Films
Rated: NOT RATED
Release Date: 2007-03-13
Cast: Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Nita Klein, Jean-Baptiste Thiérrée, Claude Sainval
Director: Alain Resnais
WorkNameSort: Muriel

French New Wave epitomizer Alain Resnais still makes groundbreaking films ‘ check out his great revisionist musicals Same Old Song (1997) and Not on the Lips (2003) ‘ but he staked his reputation on the first two features of his still-thriving career, 1959’s Hiroshima, Mon Amour and 1962’s Last Year at Marienbad. Poetic, dreamlike and puzzlingly substantial, they were unlike anything moviegoers had ever seen, anticipating Persona, David Lynch and countless others. Intellectuals loved to love them and Pauline Kael loved to hate them, her notorious panning of Resnais’ work only bolstering interest in his work.

Then came 1963’s Muriel, now on DVD from Koch Lorber, which began to throw a wrench into the idea of a Resnais film. It eschews many of the hallmarks of his first two movies ‘ luminous black-and-white photography, a nonlinear structure, majestic and self-conscious dolly shots ‘ and retains Resnais’ thematic idée fixe of the past colliding with the present, but sans many of the stylistic traits that made him an art-house darling. In other words, Muriel is just as perplexing as its predecessors, only this time not glamorously so. Moviegoers can enjoy the ambience and ambition of Hiroshima and Marienbad without really ‘gettingâ?� them, but Muriel takes a more intense investment.

Delphine Seyrig stars as Hélène, a widowed housewife who invites an old lover to her house for a visit, his true intentions growing more mysterious by the day. He’s brought along his attractive girlfriend ‘ whom he claims is his niece. To complicate things further, Hélène’s disturbed son Bernard, returning from the Algerian War, is haunted by his involvement in the rape and murder of a girl (the eponymous Muriel) during wartime. This story easily could have been filmed more conventionally by Claude Chabrol, but Resnais directs the film in an intentionally disorienting fashion, editing with rapid-fire montages, juxtaposing sound and image and generally spelling out nothing for the viewer.

Muriel is a liberating film for active viewers, posing more questions than answers and boldly tackling the subject of the Algerian War in a way few films did, or could, at the time. A short but informative interview with Resnais theorist François Thomas and the theatrical trailer round out the supplements; a commentary track would have been nice. Either way, Muriel isn’t the best way to introduce yourself to Resnais. See the two heavy hitters first (good luck finding the out-of-print Marienbad on DVD), then check out Muriel to learn that Resnais isn’t just impressionistic lovemaking and automatons lounging around a party.

This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2007.