MovieChat Forums > Hiroshima mon amour (1960) Discussion > The Meaning Of It All

The Meaning Of It All

posted 19 years ago by souva2000
10 replies | jump to latest

This is a movie for those who want to ponder over the meanings and subtleties of any work of art.I think this movie actually deals with human memory -- how it affects and shapes one's life.Also it shows how history,memory and individual lives get entangled.The last sequence emphasizes this notion.Both the architect and the actress are cloistered within their personal(as well as two countries' historical) traumatic memories.These traumatic events are,in turn,set against their hometowns.That is why in the last sequence they assert that their hometowns are personified through themselves and that is where the difference lies.The contrast between the first and last sequence is evident.In the first sequence the man tells the girl to forget everything--not only her own memories but also the collective memories of all those who suffered in WW2.But in the last sequence it turns out to be impossible.
Also note that both the lovers of the girl belong to the axis powers in WW2.Isn't it significant?
All these are my personal opinions.I will be only too happy if anybody joins these discussion and clarifies my confusions.

[–] cych 19 years ago

not confusing at all, i totally agree with you :-)

[–] memorygap 19 years ago

I don't know what you are referring to when you say "In the first sequence the man tells the girl to forget everything--not only her own memories but also the collective memories of all those who suffered in WW2." but if you are referring to the lines "You say nothing in Hiroshima", that is not what he is saying. He is saying that it is impossible for her to comprehend the horrors of Hiroshima no matter how many melted bicycles and film reels she sees.

[–] siboney 19 years ago

I feel that the intro is both an accusation and a forgiveness.

Memory and forgetness are also interweaved. The people of Hiroshima want to forget and get on with their lives, outsiders/tourists want to remember.

[–] doughazelrigg 13 years ago

Good points. My take is that the overall theme of the movie is the tension within all of us between wanting to forget traumatic experiences but needing to remember them regardless

[–] DaVooz 13 years ago

Accepting the horrible truth and managing to let go (not cling on any longer). At the very end they agree to call the other (refer to the other) as Hiroshima and Nevers. Also one said "I'm sure (I realise) I will never see you again in my life ever again" or something of that kind. That was painful (but true).

with [cheese]

[–] PoppyTransfusion 12 years ago

Also note that both the lovers of the girl belong to the axis powers in WW2.Isn't it significant?

I noticed that and of course it is significant. It's significant too that she describes herself as morally suspect and a slut, which might play to feelings of those in the audience who were never to forgive and/or forget the actions of the Germans and Japanese in WW2. Curiously Italy as the other axis power never elicited the same hatred as Germany and Japan amongst those I knew who nursed strong antipathy long after the war ended.

I can't profess after one viewing to know the meaning of it all and doubt I will after multiple viewings. There was the following movement within the film: war - loss - grief - forgetting - love - remembering - grief.

The film seemed to me a powerful anti-war one.

Fatima had a fetish for a wiggle in her scoot

[–] joechar4444 11 years ago

The main themes of this film are memory and oblivion.

[–] drjukebox 10 years ago

The story is open for interpretation.
What I remember, it is 45 years since I last saw it, is how the two were united emotionally from their being traumatized. Although their experiences were quite different. How that lead to a love affair.
I was intrigued by that.

[–] johannes-roswall 9 years ago

"We might be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us."

Gator in Magnolia.

[–] mevmijaumau 8 years ago

The point is that humans, be it individually or globally, are tormented by memory, it being a double edged sword; remembering is painful, forgetting is sinful.

He reminds Her of both the pain of losing Her lover and the fear/guilt that Hiroshima represents, but is attracted to Him and can't abandon Him either. She wants to forget the German in order to lead a more fullfilling life, but cannot bring herself to forget because it would be disloyal to him.

The final lines give everything away, when She says: "I am already forgetting you!" This line represents both the guilt of forgetting a loved one and the fear that forgetting Hiroshima might cause the atrocities to repeat.

"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life. " - Fellini