On unreliable narratives and spaces – a comparative analysis of Alain Resnais‘ Letztes Jahr in Marienbad (1961) and Hélène Cattet’s/ Bruno Forzani‘s Der Tod weint rote Tränen (2013)

Authors : Deniz BAYRAK, Sarah REİNİNGHAUS

Pages : 41-66

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Publication Date : 2016-12-19

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :An analysis comparing the European films Letztes Jahr in Marienbad (1961) and Der Tod weint rote Tränen (2013) identifies techniques, strategies and modes of unreliable narratives, which are similar in both films despite of their different times of production. Though unreliable narratives, particularly mind game films, have been booming since the 1990s, the analysis of Alain Resnais‘ film exemplifies that the above mentioned modes of presentation are not necessarily new. Shared features of unreliable film narratives are fragmentation, multiperspectivity and a lack of chronology. With regard to the analysed films, these narrative phenomena are accompanied by the fact that space cannot be determined easily or even at all. Moreover, neither the period of action nor the temporal relations between the sequences and scenes can clearly be named. The spaces shown demonstrate a lack of clear arrangement, since they are predominantly presented in a labyrinthine and fragmentary way. Moreover, a lack of permanence is striking, because transitory spaces and temporal gaps dominate the setting. Consequently, the narration’s instability is reinforced and the differentiation between illusion and reality is complicated or even prohibited. 
Keywords : Letztes Jahr in Marienbad, Der Tod weint rote Tränen, Puzzle Filme, Nouveau Roman Nouveau Cinéma, Neo Giallo