Hiroshima Mon Amour

Intimate yet breathtaking in scope, Hiroshima Mon Amour with its Duras script shattered convention for cinema to come. Opening with a daring 13-minute abstraction of newsreels, reenactment, documentary and eroticism, Alain Resnais’ first narrative feature delves into nuclear war, remembrance and all-consuming desire as a French actress and a smitten Japanese architect have a whirlwind fling in Hiroshima. Duras’ experimental contributions help mash experiences past and present into a whole that’s enigmatic and mournful, and scarred by searing memories of wartime anguish and devastation. An Oscars screenplay nomination followed, and Duras’ credit emerged as a beacon for cinephiles.

Cannes Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize

Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay nomination