Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Impossible Object Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 27, 2024

John Frankenheimer's "Story of a Love Story" a.k.a. "Impossible Object" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by novelist and critic Tim Lucas; archival program with John Frankenheimer; new video essay by filmmaker and critic Daniel Kremer; and promotional materials. In English or French, with optional English SDH and English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A/B "locked".

In the mid-1960s, John Frankenheimer went to Europe to become a serious director, but it is where he made some of his most disappointing films. Story of a Love Story a.k.a. Impossible Object is the worst of these films. It is a rather remarkably incoherent, enormously pretentious arty project that despite its impressive cast of international stars did not even get a proper theatrical release in numerous major markets.

The main protagonist in Story of a Love Story is a middle-aged married man named Harry (Alan Bates), who writes for a living and is finishing a romantic novel. The inspiration for this novel is Harry’s romantic relationship with Natalie (Dominique Sanda), who is also married to a much older than her businessman (Michel Auclair). Harry is British, while Natalie is French, and they begin their romantic relationship after accidentally meeting in a museum in Paris.

As Story of a Love Story progresses, first Harry and then Natalie recall different events, which they deem important for different reasons. However, it is always Harry who has the final and supposedly most accurate descriptions, which he incorporates into his novel. But the more detailed these descriptions become, the more they begin to overlap with even more elaborate descriptions of Harry’s fantasies about what his romantic relationship with Natalie could have been, and somewhere along the way he loses his ability to separate the two.

Frankenheimer worked with a screenplay by Nicholas Mosley, who adapted his novel Impossible Object several years after collaborating with Harold Pinter and Joseph Losey on Accident. Unfortunately, Frankenheimer’s interpretation of the material from Mosley’s screenplay, which must have been quite good, is enormously disappointing because the film he directed quite simply does not have a proper structure. This is almost certainly the reason it can be seen in two different versions, a longer French version and a shorter international version, that rearrange some parts of it and add/or drop footage.

But why exactly does Story of a Love Story not have a proper structure?

It produces a story with too many loose ends that remain, well, too loose. While there isn’t a shortage of great films that tell similar fluid stories -- Alain Resnais’ romantic mind-bender Last Year in Marienbad is one such great film -- they usually build a tremendous atmosphere that either merges with them or more often than not replaces them. (This is precisely what Last Year at Marienbad does. It builds a tremendous atmosphere that becomes more important than its fractured story and the mystery that is at the center of it). Story of a Love Story often looks very pretty, even gorgeous, but it does not have a memorable atmosphere.

Something else that also must be pointed out is Frankenheimer’s inability to manage the stars. For example, the Italian beauty Lea Massari, who had just made Murmur of the Heart with Louis Malle, emerges in a dream sequence that could have been a rushed test for an unknown project the great Federico Fellini abandoned and looks very uncomfortable. Despite spending a lot of time with Bates and repeatedly making love to him, Sanda routinely looks borderline annoyed in his company, which is very strange, too. Even the young actors playing Bates’ children often look like they are following instructions and struggling to do a good job.

The footage from Morocco is the most coherent one. It is the most beautiful one, too. However, the closure that comes after it is like a giant exclamation point because it reintroduces the perplexing chaos that defines the rest of the film.

Impossible Object Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Story of a Love Story arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release introduces new 4K restorations of two versions of the film -- the longer French version, titled Impossible Object, and the shorter international version, titled Story of a Love Story. I viewed the latter since it is the one I had seen in the past.

The overall quality of the visuals is pretty good, in some areas even excellent, but there are a few spots where it is quite easy to tell that time has left its mark. The most obvious fading and drop in density levels emerge during the openings of the two versions, but there are several other areas with inconsistencies as well. Delineation, clarity, and depth are usually very pleasing, so on a large screen the visuals hold up pretty well. There is some inherited softness, but when it emerges, it is very easy to understand why it is introduced. Color balance is good. There are a couple of areas where greenish nuances become too prominent and elsewhere blues can become uncharacteristically anemic, but I did not see any troubling anomalies. The dynamic range of the visuals is good, but there is room for some improvements. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Also, I did not spot any are-related anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region "A/B" locked Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A, Region-B, or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Impossible Object Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both versions of the film feature exchanges in English and French. There are two audio tracks on this release: English LPCM 1.0 and French LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH and English subtitles are provided.

I viewed the international version, in which well over two-thirds of the dialog/narration is in English. Clarity and stability were very good. Michel Legrand's predictably wonderful soundtrack easily produces quite good dynamic contrasts as well. In fact, I was quite surprised by the wide range of nuanced dynamics because there is hardly any material that produces the right opportunities for them. The upper register is very healthy.

Impossible Object Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Le Cinema a... John Frankenheimer - presented here is an excerpt from an episode of the French television program Le Cinema a... in which John Frankenheimer participates in a Q&A session with French filmgoers who had just seen Story of a Love Story. The episode was broadcast on May 13, 1973. In French, with English subtitles. (5 min).

• Stories of a Love Story - this new program compares the two versions of Story of a Love Story. (10 min).

• These Obscure Subjects of Desire - this exclusive new video essay was created by filmmaker and critic Daniel Kremer. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Gallery -
  
  1. Promotional material
  2. Script gallery for Story of a Love Story.

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by novelist and critic Tim Lucas.

• Booklet - a limited edition exclusive 44-page booklet with a new essay by Adam Scovell, a new appreciation by experimental artist and record producer Russell Haswell, a look at the work of Nicholas Mosley and the themes of the source novel, excerpts from John Frankenheimer interviews, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and technical credits.

Impossible Object Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A decade earlier, Federico Fellini shot his most personal film and one of cinema's greatest masterpieces, 8½, which despite producing an abundance of surreal imagery remains the most authentic depiction of a filmmaker's struggle to create. I think that John Frankenheimer's Story of a Love Story was meant to be a similarly personal film with a universal message. There are too many and too obvious parallels between these films -- the writer and the filmmaker representing alter egos, their frequently overpowering urge to give up on their work and life, the crucial roles beautiful women have, the constant overlapping of the real and the imaginary, etc. Unfortunately, while a curious project, Story of a Love Story never manages to replicate the brilliance of 8½. It produces some lovely visuals, but it has too many loose ends that remain, well, too loose. This upcoming release introduces good new 4K restorations of two versions of Story of a Love Story. An identical release is available in North America as well. RECOMMENDED only to folks who like to experiment with unorthodox films.