I just read Waiting for Godot. For me, it has similarities with LYAM, as in the cyclical nature of time and events, the possibility that the characters are in some sort of limbo or hell, and the endless waiting for something to happen (and for the film and play's audience also, as in waiting for something--anything--to happen).
Similar/dissimilar thoughts?
I agree with you that it's the time /space cyclical nature of of this film what makes it so special. To be without being; time that is and is not; time that "was" but is still now alive; "WFG" dealing with the same themes. --Both are exceptional works that I adore!!
shareWell, I think you missed the funny parts in Waiting for Godot. Quit reading Samuel Beckett's plays. Reading his plays (or anyone else's) is like reading recipes. Wait to see them, or at least check out the TV versions. There really is a series of TV adaptations of all of Beckett's plays.
You might try reading Samuel Beckett's The Unnamable. It's probably closer to Marienbad anyway. In it a spheroid speaker inclosed in a cube speaks. Often he describes the heroes of Beckett's earlier novels--Murphy, Mercier, Malloy, Moran, Malone--revolving past him at different speeds. He speaks ceaselessly hoping that he can get the words in the right order so that he will be allowed to stop speaking.
Well, okay. Maybe Marienbad is a little more linear than that. At least there is the suspense of whether A and X will run off together or whether M will intercept them. Then again, maybe that's not all that different from the suspense of whether the Unnamable will ever get the words in the right order.
In any case, I like both of them a lot, and I urge you to hunt down a performance of Godot even if it's on video instead of a live performance. It's a blast.