Movie

Muriel, or the Time of Return

1963 · 117 min

A quietly disorienting plunge into memory and guilt, where fragmented moments and unspoken truths leave a lingering unease.

Overview: 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.

Search YouTube for the trailer

Rent or buy in the UK

Apple TV Store

More options Data from JustWatch

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: melancholicstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
eeriestrength 1 of 3
darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: memory
guilt
war
isolation
deception
Places: small town
home
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
unreliable narrator
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	2
Humour	1
Realism	8
Romance	3
Tension	5
Darkness	7
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	8

Titles like Muriel, or the Time of Return

Movie

Hiroshima mon amour

1959

A hushed, hypnotic plunge into memory and grief, where fragments of the past keep surfacing through intimate conversation.

Same director: Alain Resnais · Melancholic, slow-burn · about memory and guilt · nonlinear

Also: Same director: Alain Resnais
Via: melancholic
memory
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 92 min

Details In your watch list

Hiroshima mon amourHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Le Coup de grâce

1966

A quiet, uneasy chamber drama where politeness curdles into dread as a hidden past slowly surfaces among oblivious company.

Same director: Jean Cayrol · Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about memory and guilt

Also: Same director: Jean Cayrol
Via: melancholic
tense
memory
guilt
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 96 min

Details In your watch list

Le Coup de grâceHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Last Year at Marienbad

1961

A hypnotic, disorienting puzzle that feels like wandering through a dream, with opulent imagery and repetitive narration that demand close attention.

Same director: Alain Resnais · Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about memory and deception · nonlinear

Also: Same director: Alain Resnais
Via: melancholic
tense
memory
deception
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 95 min

Details In your watch list

Last Year at MarienbadHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Stranger

2025

A detached, sun-drenched plunge into a man's indifference, where the heat and silence press on you as much as the looming judgment.

Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about guilt and isolation · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
tense
guilt
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 122 min

Details In your watch list

The StrangerHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

All Souls' Day

1961

A quiet, haunted weekend where tender moments are shadowed by wartime memories, leaving a lingering sense of guilt and loss.

Melancholic, slow-burn · about memory and guilt · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
memory
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 93 min

Details In your watch list

All Souls' DayHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Caché

2005

A quietly unsettling film that keeps you on edge, asking you to piece together clues and confront uncomfortable truths.

Tense, slow-burn · about memory and guilt · nonlinear

Via: tense
memory
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 118 min

Details In your watch list

CachéHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Belle de Jour

1967

A cool, dreamlike plunge into desire and deception, where fantasy and reality blur and nothing is quite what it seems.

Same cinematographer: Sacha Vierny · Melancholic, tense · about deception · nonlinear

Also: Same cinematographer: Sacha Vierny
Via: melancholic
tense
deception
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 101 min

Details In your watch list

Belle de JourHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Poetry

2010

A quiet, haunting immersion into a woman's fractured consciousness, balancing beauty and horror with unflinching tenderness.

Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about memory and guilt · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
tense
memory
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 139 min

Details In your watch list

PoetryHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The War Is Over

1966

A somber, talky political drama that feels like a slow, anxious countdown to an inevitable betrayal.

Same director: Alain Resnais · Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about guilt and isolation · nonlinear

Also: Same director: Alain Resnais
Via: melancholic
tense
guilt
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 121 min

Details In your watch list

The War Is OverHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Night and Fog

1956

A solemn, unflinching meditation on atrocity that juxtaposes serene present-day ruins with harrowing archival footage, demanding quiet reflection.

Same director: Alain Resnais · Melancholic · about memory and guilt · nonlinear

Also: Same director: Alain Resnais
Via: melancholic
memory
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 32 min

Details In your watch list

Night and FogHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Je T'Aime, Je T'Aime

1968

A haunting, fragmented dive into memory and loss that feels like drifting through someone else's regrets.

Same director: Alain Resnais · Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about memory and guilt · nonlinear

Also: Same director: Alain Resnais
Via: melancholic
tense
memory
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 94 min

Details In your watch list

Je T'Aime, Je T'AimeHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Non-lieu

1968

A short, disorienting plunge into one haunted man's guilt, where memory and nightmare blur until you can't tell what's real.

Melancholic, slow-burn · about memory and guilt · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
memory
guilt
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 24 min

Details In your watch list

Non-lieuHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy

Apple TV Store

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: drama
Directed by: Alain Resnais
Written by: Jean Cayrol
Starring: Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Jean-Baptiste Thiérrée, Nita Klein, Claude Sainval, Laurence Badie, Martine Vatel, Philippe Laudenbach
Music: Hans Werner Henze
Cinematography: Sacha Vierny
Runtime: 117 min
Country: Italy, France
Languages: French

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.

Muriel, or the Time of Return

How it feels

More like this

Titles like Muriel, or the Time of Return

Where to watch in the UK

Details