Muriel, or the Time of Return

Muriel, or the Time of Return

1963 · 117 min · ★ 6.9 · Drama

In the seacoast town of Boulogne, antique furniture saleswoman Hélène lives with her stepson, Bernard, who's back from military duty in Algiers. An old lover of Hélène's comes to visit, Alphonse, with his niece Françoise; he too is back from Algiers, where he ran a café. Bernard speaks of his fiancée, Muriel, whom Hélène has not met. The past is obscured by guilt, misperceptions, and missed possibilities. Appearances deceive, things change. As Hélène and Alphonse try to sort out a renewal, everyone seems off-kilter just enough to hint that all cannot end well.

Directed by Alain Resnais · Written by Jean Cayrol

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Cast

Delphine Seyrig Hélène Aughain
Jean-Pierre Kérien Alphonse Noyard
Jean-Baptiste Thiérrée Bernard Aughain
Nita Klein Françoise
Claude Sainval Roland de Smoke
Laurence Badie Claudie
Martine Vatel Marie-Dominique, aka Marie-Do
Philippe Laudenbach Robert
Jean Champion Ernest
Jean Dasté L'homme à la chèvre / The Goat Man
Julien Verdier Le loueur de chevaux / The Stableman
Nelly Borgeaud La femme du couple d'acheteurs

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