Overview
A mysterious encounter blurs the lines between reality and imagination, leaving one woman questioning her past.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- None
- dreamy
- enigmatic
- austere
- late night cinephile viewing
- arthouse film discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an exquisitely photographed, dreamlike landmark of narrative ambiguity, though its experimental opacity remains divisive.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film never resolves whether X and A met the previous year, and its creators offered contradictory interpretations.
X reconstructs an alleged prior encounter through increasingly persuasive descriptions while A cannot remember it.
The hotel, gardens, statues, corridors, and geometric grounds are presented as elegant but uncanny structures of uncertainty.
Unnamed guests circulate through a luxurious gathering, card games, and formal interactions while desire remains constrained and opaque.
Films like Last Year at Marienbad, and why
Persona
Shared dreamlike ambiguity, fractured memory, and formally radical narrative design
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Shared surrealist atmosphere, uncertain identity, and psychologically unstable reality
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Shared non-linear recollection, romantic obsession, and enigmatic European art-house style
The Exterminating Angel
Shared architectural spaces, ambiguous desire, and elliptical modernist storytelling
Movie Details
- Director
- Alain Resnais
- Release Date
- 1961-09-29
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (559)
Cast
- Delphine Seyrig
- Giorgio Albertazzi
- Sacha Pitoëff
- Françoise Bertin
- Luce Garcia-Ville
- Héléna Kornel
- Françoise Spira
- Karin Toche-Mittler
- Pierre Barbaud
- Wilhelm von Deek
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Darkroom, France Channel Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Last Year at Marienbad about?
- At an opulent European resort, a persistent man and an amnesiac woman circle an affair that may be memory, manipulation, or dream.
- What is Last Year at Marienbad like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Last Year at Marienbad as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is Last Year at Marienbad violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Last Year at Marienbad.
- What did critics think of Last Year at Marienbad?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an exquisitely photographed, dreamlike landmark of narrative ambiguity, though its experimental opacity remains divisive.
- Which films are like Last Year at Marienbad?
- Films with a similar feel include Persona, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Exterminating Angel.
- How long is Last Year at Marienbad?
- Last Year at Marienbad runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch Last Year at Marienbad?
- In United States, Last Year at Marienbad streams on Darkroom, France Channel Amazon Channel.
