IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA. Stalking up on lost love.

IMAGINE, if you wish, Alain Resnais' "Last Year in Marienbad" filtered through the senses of Eric Rohmer, and you have a feel for "In the City of Sylvia" by Spanish filmmaker JL Guerin.

 In "Marienbad," a gentleman meets a lady in a rambling hotel and insists that they had an affair the previous year in the Czech spa oasis Marienbad.

 In "Sylvia," a young poet (scruffy Xavier Lafitte) follows a woman (Pilar Lopez de Ayala) through the side streets of Strasbourg, convinced she is the Sylvia that he met six years earlier in a cafe in that city.

 

 He first spied her anew during a lazy afternoon, shot in real time, in an outdoor cafe filled with an abundance of Rohmer-esque waifs.

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  There isn't any more of a story here. What counts is the atmosphere conjured up by Guerin and lenser Natasha Braier (XXY, Teta Asustada) on the streets of Strasbourg.

 It's people-watching taken to a sublime level. Moviegoers interested in a conventional story can go see any of the Hollywood blockbusters stinking up the multiplexes. But for viewers interested in cinematic poetry, there's "In the City of Sylvia," one of the year's best. 

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