The Long Absence (1961)
Director: Henri Colpi
Writers: Henri Colpi, Marguerite Duras
Stars: Alida Valli, Georges Wilson, Charles Blavette
Runtime: 94 minutes
Plot: A café owner tries to bring back the memory of a lost tramp, who she believes is her husband missing from WWII.
Review: The simplicity of "The Long Absence," from the writer of "Hiroshima, Mon Amour," is perhaps the most striking aspect of it. It is uncomplicated and spare almost to the point of appearing shallow — on the surface, that is. It presents nothing more sophisticated than the drama of a woman in a French town, knocked off her props by the appearance of an amnesia-suffering tramp who she thinks is her husband, missing since World War II. It does nothing more than trace the eager but tensely cautious and gentle steps by which she tries to confirm her strong suspicions and unlock the sealed chambers of the men's mind.
Yet within its simple exposition with beautifully formed and ordered scenes, brilliant performances and exquisite photography, it encompasses a world of feeling and drama inside a woman's heart and a whole range of searing intimations of what might have happened during the war. The dialogue is spoken with gratifying clarity, and the subtitles that translate it are so suitable and well placed, that students of French should find this a particularly good film to attend.
Reviewed by Mohaiminul Islam
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