This movie should stop you in your tracks. Revelatory film making on a different level Hiroshima Mon Amour is the true Breathless of it’s era. Starting out as a documentary only to become one of the most honest and cross-cultural love stories ever made. Marguerite Duras lent her mighty pen strokes to a script and outline that would be followed to the letter. Beautiful intimacy, bridging dissimilar nations separated by immeasurable gulfs from war worn WW II. This first full feature by Alain Resnais is a powerhouse of opposites attracting. Using backgrounds of great historical loss and tragedy it never succumbing to trivial sentiments.

Approach with care. The film has a way of digging in and undoing your precognitions of acceptable narratives. Several viewings might be required to fully appreciate what Resnais has presented here. All repeat visits are worthy as it tugs gently at your subconscious, nudging memories precious and most personal. Criterion has excelled with a commanding commentary by Peter Cowie, separate musical track, and annotations of the screenplay cut in. When I think of what masterful, classic cinema can be, this is one film/DVD package that races to the forefront.