Here's the link to the piece by Couch Baron:
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/mad_men/the_benefactor.php?page=3

I love what he said about tracking down the dialog: "And I want you to know that while I don't mind spending time with Google doing research for these recaps when I feel it's warranted, trying to slog through Google France is a bit more effort than I normally feel obligated to expend."

Ok... back to re-watching Michael Phelps' unbelievable come from behind win by one one-hundredth of a second in the 100m Butterfly final for his seventh gold medal where he literally snatched victory from the leader with his final stroke while the presumptive winner was trying to glide to the finish. The guy is even more awesome than Matt Weiner... ;->

Fascinating indeed...A new twist on the surprising depth of Don/Dick's love for Betty?

Wow, my ignorance staggers me. All I remember of the French film is a hand print that seemed to relate to the story Don heard from one of the junior execs. Now I'll have to rewatch.

I've read on other threads that the film was "Last Year at Marienbad." which stars and is partially narrated by Delphine Seyrig. The synopsis on IMdB includes this paragraph:

"The film is about the dream of a man in love with an inaccessible woman. But the dream is also a nightmare. He comes to take her away, but she does not, or does not want to, remember him. When he seems to have finally reached her, she has moved into another time, into another memory. As he renews his efforts to convince her, new nightmares arise. He is not even sure of loving her, or even if it was she who was or the object of his love. The film ends with his taking her in the nightuntil the next dream.

Marienbad is a love story, although not a 'story' in the conventional narrative sense, since the fragmented images cannot be scanned chronologically. The "story" is not told rather it is described using a juxtaposition of physical images, through memories and associations, projected through a space-time continuum, which destroys both linear chronology and fixity. Resnais built a captivating puzzle-like film, a labyrinth, which at time resembles the optical illusions of Escher or the surreal world of Magritte."

This leads me to believe (maybe wishful thinking here) that it's more likely related to Rachel, not Betty. Could be way off though.

Wow...
Thanks for sharing the film's name, zebra...
Weiner certainly has gone to a lot of trouble to obscure his intent, hasn't he?....

Wow! Greytone, this was fantastic! Thank you for the research and great insight. I didn't even connect - until just now - that this episode began and ended with French.

Zebra, your comments are amazing, too. At first blush, I would think it's Rachel, but the more detailed description makes me think it's Betty. He's trying anything to recapture what he once felt for her - those feelings he showed in "The Wheel." He finally reached her but she has moved on to another time (hence the watch?) and now he wonders if he ever did love her.

His slide show in "The Wheel" was a reverse chronological order and can also be considered a juxtaposition of physical images projected through a space-time continuum.

Wow, this is soooo deep. I have never EVER analyzed images in a show or movie. I am addicted.

I can't say for sure that the film I mention is the film shown in Epi 3, but I had seen that mention elsewhere and it does make sense. I'm going to rent it and see if that is the right film.

NancyStowOH, you're spot on with all the parallels to "The Wheel" and Don's presentation there. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things turn out for them, but the depth of this series offers so much to analyze, it's hard not to turn it over several times.

I'm a new poster on the site, and have been lurking since I watched all of Season 1 three weeks ago. I have spent quite a bit of time looking around the web for other Mad Men obsessives to answer the question about this French movie that includes the poem Ballad of the Women of Ancient Times, along with learning more about French New Wave than I ever really wanted to know (thanks Matt Weiner!). I don't believe it's Last Year at Marienbad, or Hiroshima Mon Amour, or a Truffaut movie. The movie La Tour de Nesle, a French movie from 1955, includes the narration of the poem at the end. One stanza of the poem includes the verse "and where I pray you is the Queen Who will'd that Buridan should steer Sew'd in a sacks mouth down the Seine? But where are the snows o' yesteryear?" , which is the plot of the movie, about a queen of France who traps her one night stand lovers and has them killed. The only problem with having this be the right movie, is that the notable thing about this particular movie was that it was filmed in color - very unusual for French movies of the time. Perhaps the version that the NY theater received was in B&W? Check out imdB for the more detailed plot line.

What does that have to do with Don? Matt Weiner wouldn't have bothered with such an obscure reference unless it's meaningful. Everything he puts on screen serves a narrative purpose. Perhaps Don understands that his infidelities will be "fatal" - if not literally, than at least to his identity, which we all know is an artifice. He knows his carefully structured life can't last, but can't see yet how it's all going to go down.

That's what I love about this show though - every character's identity is going to be challenged, either by their secrets, their agendas or by the times, which definitely are a changin'.

balrow....thank you for registering in order to share your perspective on this topic.
zebra...Thanks, again for your response.

The problem is that now, I am unclear on which perspective is 'true,' and cannot possibly learn French before Sunday night's broadcast.

I do fall in line behind balrow's final sentence: "...every character's identity is going to be challenged, either by their secrets, their agendas or by the times,..."

Weiner has warned the viewers to be sure to watch each character for who they want to be...not how they present themselves. For now, I plan to do just that....and keep watching.

Greytone - I too will unquestionably keep watching. This is the only entertainment show on basic cable that's gotten me to think beyond the week's story arc. TV is generally insipid. I used to love the early Northern Exposure shows- great characters with quirks and personalities, and occasionally there were books or events mentioned on the shows that piqued my curiosity to follow up on. This show has taken that curiosity to another level. I'm HOOKED.

DEFINITELY NOT HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR. Rented it out, and although an interesting movie with great commentary from the Criterion Collection, it was definitely NOT the movie Don saw...it was released in 1959, so that makes it even more unlikely. Wouldn't be surprised if it was LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD.
Surprised and impressed by Don taking the time to see foreign films during the workday...so I am guessing that it was a film that was either very controversial or very popular and people were talking about at that time.
Damn, this show is making me WORK. I LOVE IT.

So...looks like general consensus leans toward Last Year at Marienbad... byl...thanks for reporting on your viewing of Hiroshima Mon Amour...
I don't give Don any credit for 'choosing' the movie, though. I think he just stumbled into a dark, anonymous space. Someone from that industry and time has validated the fact that going to art house movies was used as inspration for ad executives. It's not the first time Don has disappeared into a movie (watching home movies for ideas for the Kodak client) to gain inspiration. I think he is amazed to be finding out more about himself and his emotions in the process.

I don't think the move was La Tour de Nesle because as someone mentioned upthread, it was in color, but it's also a period piece based on an Alexandre Dumas novel. I'm not sure if it's Last Year at Marienbade, either, but it may be one of Resnais' short films, which dealt with many of the same themes. One thing I can say definitively is that Matthew Weiner is never going to disclose the name of that movie. Here's why.

It's definetly not Marienbad. For one, the timing dosent work (it didnt get released Stateside until after the Cuban Missle crisis), and its entierly composed of footage in and and around the resort (so the desertscape dont wash). I do reckon its got that Sacha Vierny look, and seems vaguely Resnaisesque so my money is on it being something of his or someone else in Left Bank crowd (Could be Marker, who knows, maybe Varda).

I'd say no way on Truffau or Godard or any of the Cashiers du Cinema gang.

As for Don taking time out from his day to see it.... In the 1950's and 1960's, French films were suspected by non-Francophile Americans as being about an inch away from porn.

I don't think artistic loftiness was what drew Don to the piece...

China Wholesale Town - China's most viable wholesale supplier of promotional gifts, Wholesale Carabiner you can customize your own logo, no matter anywhere in the world! Lunch Box Suppliers