Trapped Within Herself

Throughout Hiroshima Mon Amour Elle shows Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms in the forms of flashbacks and uncontrollable emotions. First of all, she visits Hiroshima to make a movie that acts as a catalyst bringing back all the memories. In the scene where Elle is on set for the movie she is filming, picot signs are shown. It is interesting that the director positions the camera so that the viewer can see all of the grotesque imagery and text that the signs say even translations are provided. What is the importance of those signs to the viewer? Are we supposed to feel overwhelmed, shocked, or angry at the signs? When the angry picketers flood over Elle, she starts to panic perhaps remembering the chaos she experienced as people ran for their lives like animals. The imagery on the signs is like flashbacks to her. She is overcome with grotesque thoughts she wanted to bury. The picketing scene acts as an example of how someone with PTSD is thrown back in time because Elle expecting danger from a crowd of people reenacting a historical event but to her, it feels as though she was transported back into time. The reenactment did not cause other people unrest whereas Elle ran to Liu who held her close as if they would be separated in the crowd never to see each other again. Elle’s PTSD really shows in her drastic mood swings. Sometimes she will be completely fine and then she will have a random flash back. She can be angry at times and calm at others. In the scene where Liu asks about Elle’s past, he has to get her drunk in order for her to talk about it because it is something she does not want to remember. The alcohol acts as a way to numb the pain. Because she is getting tipsy, her mind is clouded and she is not able to talk rationally or think about what she is saying. The alcohol allowed her to live with her pain and share it with Liu. Also she referred to Liu as her deceased lover. Liu played along with her as if he were there as well. In this instance, the past and the present have collided. Because she called Liu her ex-lover’s name, it was like she was reliving the past not knowing who is who. Because Liu went along with her, he was able to learn about her suffering while she was able to say what she probably never would have said to a stranger before.  Liu roll playing as her ex-lover helped to calm her and express herself.  In that scene the viewer is able to see how damaged she was and how she has grown to be better but never fully healed. Hiroshima Mon Amour shows how Elle lives with PTSD on a daily basis while visiting Hiroshima is a way for her to enter the past and Liu is for her to love her suffering because her love for Liu binds her to her past.