Charming Resnais piece about time traveling.

Claude is a man who just left a hospital after trying to kill himself. As soon as he checks out, he’s contacted by an experimental science company who’s looking to test their time traveling methods on men. Admitting he has nothing to lose, Claude accepts. He’s supposed to go back in time a few years and only for one minute. Of course, it doesn’t work like that. On people. On mice it works fine.

Right from the beginning of the flashbacks, it’s quite interesting how Resnais leads us to the past; constant image shifts between what’s happening with Claude (lying, drugged, about to start) and the sea. When the second image, the blue, finally takes over, there he is, swimming. In the past.

It takes a while for the memories to “start to work” — early on the same beach scene repeats over and over again, but without getting tiresome. With his mind going all over the place, Claude sometimes gets hints of conscience, in the past and also in the present. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was definitely influenced on Je T’aime, Je T’aime’s formula.

Undoubtedly worthwhile.