Major Themes of the Story Hiroshima Mon Amour

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Hiroshima Mon Amour
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), directed by Alain Resnais, is recognized as one of the most important drivers of the French New Wave. The story concerns love and war, suffering and forgetting. The film depicts a French actress and a Japanese architect who fall in love in Hiroshima, a city that suffered the atomic bomb attack and was rebuilt after the cataclysm of WWII. With the development of their relationship, the dusty memory of the woman is released gradually. It is also the story of two lovers who face similarly inescapable histories. The director uses a lot of cinematic techniques of French New Wave, such as non-linear narrative, montage, documentary-like shooting，and well-designed lighting, to reveal the themes of memory and forgetfulness, love and pain, past and present.
The pain of the past and memory have dominated various scenes in Hiroshima Mon Amour. Among various other occurrences, Emmanuelle Narrates about Nevers to her partner. She indicates that the Nevers was very small and it limited her freedom. She scratched the wall with her nails where by her attempts to escape failed. Her attempt to get out promoted physical and mental stress because, scratching the wall led to bleeding and she had to suck that blood. She claims that the walls in Nevers tasted salty. Therefore, Emmanuelle’s experience in Nevers highlight pain and suffering that she can barely forget. Additionally, the after math of destruction in Hiroshima left people injured while other lost their loved ones. The photograph scenes indicate wounded people. These highlights physical injuries and pain experienced by people of Hiroshima. These occasions are evident that Hiroshima Mon Amor channels the theme of both suffering and pain to the audience (Werner, Gruhl).
 The story unfolds in a non-linear manner where there are continuous allusions to the war. The film also shows shots of peaceful Hiroshima as well as flashbacks to the bombing. Long shot has been used to compare and contrast life in the past and the present. This is revealed by a long-shot when fire consumed the whole of Hiroshima and a longshot used to highlight the after math of the destruction where by the bare land of Hiroshima is revealed when previous buildings are nowhere to be seen. We know about the terrible story of Nevers from the woman’s perspective and recollections of her memory, but still, Hiroshima is mysterious, despite archival images and present-day reconstructions. The story that can be continuously questioned based on the accuracy of the protagonists. It is clear that the woman suffered while in France, but the story goes back and forth in the past and present so there is no clear plot development. However, by telling the story in a circular manner, the film delves into the lives of the two lovers in two cities, where there is a transition from a traumatic past to the future.
The theme of the film is clearly expressed at the beginning through a series of montages. The opening scene shows two people embracing, with close-up shots of their hands, shoulders and naked backs, which emphasizes the intimacy of the shots and their roles in the film. Duras described this scene as ashes, atomic fallout and sweat of contemplated love. However, the identities of the people is not clear. Then, it is revealed they are a male’s hands and a female’s hands, and then the film focuses on the city to show how the different places and people are connected. The director uses a lengthy montage sequence with some evocative tracking shots down a series of documentary-like shots to show the film’s contrasting theme about love and war. The director takes the audience from hall way in a museum, to hospital corridors and to Newsreel showing the after math of the atomic bomb attack (Maugarite Duras). The director proceeds by taking audience into a historical time where audience notice drama when the woman compares the story of her affair and its tragic outcomes.
The director presents a series of horrific images such as loose human skin and hair, photos and moving images of scorched bodies, and malformed children with close-ups of two naked embracing bodies. The strong emotional contrast reveals itself through the images. One side is a strong and happy pleasure, and the other side is the documentary-like record of the horrors of the disaster. The images attempt to evoke people’s memories of Hiroshima’s atomic bomb attack, and also lead people into the stories of the characters.
The theme of war, suffering and history are revealed in the first ten minutes of Hiroshima Mon Amour. Transition from hospital corridors, photograph and museum takes the audience to a scene of war. Massive fire consumes a large area where by the audience note building, various structure on fire and a man yelling in the middle of fire. The voice over behind tells more about Hiroshima before it was attacked. In the museum, there are remains of various structures such as bicycles that indicates destructive fire that will never be forgotten (Maugarite Duras). Additionally, many people are seen in the water escaping the harsh fire that have covered the city. This scene clearly indicates suffering because children and women are crying and they are struggling to escape the fire. After the bomb attack, people’s health was affected where majority of children shown were deformed and they could not be able to perform various tasks by themselves. Also, the audience notice a dog which has lost one of its leg. This shows that the destruction was intense and it did not spare anyone. Therefore, it is correct to state that this scene have perfectly highlighted the theme of war and suffering experienced by Japanese.
Pain of the past and remembrance have dominated various scenes in Hiroshima Mon Amour. Emmanuelle Narrates about Nevers to her partner where she indicates that the Nevers was very small and it limited her from movement and exposure. She scratched the wall with her nails where by her attempts to walk out failed. Much efforts promoted physical injuries on her hands because she scratching the wall to a point of bleeding. She claims that the walls in Nevers tasted salty. Therefore, Emmanuelle’s experience in Nevers highlight unforgettable pain and suffering. Additionally, the after math of destruction in Hiroshima left people injured while other lost their loved ones (Maugarite Duras). The hospital scene reveals deformity, wounds and life threatening conditions of victims. The photograph scenes indicate wounded people. These highlights physical injuries and pain experienced by people of Hiroshima. These occasions are evident that Hiroshima Mon Amor channels the theme of both suffering and pain to the audience. Pain in these scenes occur in various ways which include; stress and limited freedom, physical injuries, loss of loved ones and properties and internal war.
The lighting techniques create an atmosphere for story. In the tea room scene, the lighting technique used by the director is more like stage lighting (Carl Casinghino). The man and woman sit face to face while a bunch of light hits on the woman’s face, and the man is completely hidden in the dark, as if the whole place is a stage for the woman to tell her story. The man is always facing away from the audience and people cannot see his expression in the dark light. The man not only plays the role of lover, but also the “prompt” – he constantly asks questions and evokes all the memories of the...