personal reflections on Marienbad

Marienbad is often described as "New Wave" but in my opinion this is a miscategorization. It is true that it made its debut during that era, and it is equally true that Resnais was one of the "Left Bank" group of artists who socialized and encouraged each other at that time. If you watch Agnes Varda's charming "Beaches of Agnes" she mentions him many times as part of the clique. But if the New Wave can be defined by its style, it was broadly speaking irreverent, free-form, fresh, fluid informal, and strongly plot-driven. M. Resnais' work does not belong in this group. It is more formal and formalistic, more conceptual, less narrative-dependent, more disciplined, more structured, more measured, less ebullient ... Marienbad in particular. Those who say it owes a lot to Proust perhaps have not actually read Proust. The only trait it shares is that of presenting the same situation from differing and sometimes contradictory perspectives. I first saw it in 1961 in London and have been intrigued by it ever since. I even had the honor of meeting M. Resnais once, in 1972 in Toronto and was struck by his sense of focus, purpose, and careful thoughtfulness. I asked him about the symbolism in Marienbad (what an inane question, but I was awestruck) He said there was none. After years of thinking about that I think I see what he meant, viz: no conscious symbolism. "This" did not directly represent "that", nor did "A" represent "B" in the director's mind. Like free association he laid out all the pathways and possibilities as his own creative mind processes shaped them, and honed them elegantly into a "Rorshchach-blot" masterpiece from which we must derive our own experience. That might well produce a work of "self-indulgence" (as Ms. Kael called it) or even chaos in less skillful hands, but under M. Resnais' masterful and measured control, it brought forth a structure of complex beauty and lasting fascination. That's my view, anyway.