Photography

Some of us find formal gardens a bit spooky.  Alain Resnais did, which is why he set his 1961 movie Last Year at Marienbad primarily in Munich's Nymphenburg Palace, with its severe formal gardens.  It seems a new print of that film is now showing out here. 

Written by Alain Robbe-Grillet in collaboration with Resnais, the film is an exploration of the power of memory and the persistence of romantic longing. Amid the splendor of a bygone era, a large number of formally dressed guests while away evenings playing games, attending balls and, one night, a production of Ibsen's "Rosmersholm." The men's tuxedos and the women's evening gowns are the height of contemporary elegance, but their behavior and activities belong to the past - so much so that a freeze frame can make these people seem as lifeless as statuary in the hotel gardens. The fanciful gilt plasterwork, the soaring columns, the glittering expanses of mirrors in the vast salons create an oppressive atmosphere.

Oppressive – time to check that out. We have our own oppressive formal gardens, at Greystone Mansion, used in many films for pretty much the same effect (more photos here). It’ll do. And now showing: