Love upon Death/Love unto Death
 

PostED on 13.10.2025

‘What's the point of coming back from the dead if it's just to keep repeating the same old stories?’ laments Simon, the protagonist of Love upon Death/Love unto Death.

  
© MK2
Love upon Death/Love unto Death (1984)

One night, Elizabeth witnesses Simon's sudden death. A few minutes later, Simon comes walking down the stairs. He's come back to life! Nothing will ever be the same again for this couple who had only just recently gotten together. Love upon Death/Love unto Death starts from the impossible premise of seeing life differently, as if decided by a coin toss. It features the most famous quartet in Alain Resnais' filmography: Sabine Azéma, Pierre Arditi, Fanny Ardant, and André Dussollier- who also all starred in Mélo (1986) and Same Old Song (1997). This absolute tragedy can also be viewed as one of the most prodigious cinematic reflections on love and death. Interrupted by visions, a sort of abstract interlude of an atmosphere mixed with flakes and punctuated by mineral music, this story unfolds by asking – out loud - questions we don’t dare even admit to ourselves in whispers. (Do we really have to take care of our children? Are we obliged to be social?) Sacha Vierny's sacred photography illustrates a very intense scenario, with a hallucinatory calm, written by Jean Gruault (who penned the screenplay of  François Truffaut's The Green Room, another great film that revolves around the theme of love unto death). The whole of this work is a long procession in which each character speaks a profound truth. Love upon Death/Love unto Death is one of those major films of the 20th century that thinks long and hard, giving us food for thought without ever becoming a snooze, thanks to the actors' tremendous commitment. Sabine Azéma, as a distraught young woman, never hesitates to throw herself wholeheartedly into the thick of things. Pierre Arditi, for whom working with Alain Resnais is the biggest adventure of his film career, twists his whole body to communicate the great paradox of his character, a man who is totally sceptical yet transcended by what he claims to have seen in the afterlife. Between intense suffering and great happiness, Love upon Death/Love unto Death is one of the strangest and most radical films one can discover today, where its rarity shines even brighter.

Virginie Apiou

Love upon Death/Love unto Death by Alain Resnais
(L'Amour à mort, 1984, 1h32, VFSTA)

Restoration 4K by MK2 Films. 

This film bears the label of Lumière Classics.

Our thanks to distributor MK2 Films 

Comœdia Sun12 5.45pm | Institut Lumière (Hangar) Mon13 2.30pm | Pathé Bellecour Tue14 10.45am

L’Amour à mort is the first recipient of the FIPRESCI Heritage Prize at the Lumière film festival. The 2025 award honours Sabine Azéma and Pierre Arditi.