Out 1 (1971, Jacques Rivette)
Thankfully, I have a downloaded copy of the movie from Raitre Italian TV, so I can get lots of screen shots. The charactors (actors) and their relationships seem more important than plot/storyline, so...
View ArticleTwo Moral Tales (Eric Rohmer)
So Rohmer’s standard scenario for the Moral Tales was: male protagonist with one girl, tempted by another. Sounds easy. Let’s go. The Bakery Girl of Monceau (1963) Student is in love with girl Sylvie...
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My Night At Maud’s (1969, Eric Rohmer)
Jean-Louis is a Catholic engineer with an interest in mathematics and a dislike for Blaise Pascal (the mid-1600′s scientist and philosopher). JL meets up with old long-time-no-see friend Vidal, who...
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La Collectionneuse (1967, Eric Rohmer)
Made and released before My Night at Maud’s, but it’s part four of the Moral Tales. I made a moral decision to watch the films according to their numbering in the DVD box set, and not in the order they...
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Claire’s Knee (1970, Eric Rohmer)
When the movie began, I immediately noticed Jean-Claude Brialy’s hair. Who is this guy? I’ve seen him in earlier films (Paris Belongs To Us, A Woman is a Woman and Le Beau Serge) and a later film...
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Chloe in the Afternoon (1972, Eric Rohmer)
Fred has a decent life with his wife, who is expecting a second baby, when old friend (actually an old friend’s ex) Chloe resurfaces and they start meeting in the afternoons. Fred lunches with Chloe,...
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The Lady and the Duke (2001, Eric Rohmer)
“You’ll be your own downfall.” The Lady of the title is Grace Elliott, a Brit in France during the 1789-93 French Revolution. Actually the French title is L’anglaise et la duc but Grace is Scottish,...
View ArticleThe Romance of Astrée and Celadon (2007, Eric Rohmer)
Astree loves Celadon and vice versa, with the kind of suicide-pact love that mainly exists among 17-year-olds in tragi-romantic plays. His parents don’t approve so the young lovers make a public show...
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Perceval Le Gallois (1979, Eric Rohmer)
I didn’t expect this from the most naturalistic of the French new wavers. It’s a period musical adaptation of an epic poem – that part seems up Rohmer’s alley – but he uses spare, symbolic sets...
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The Marquise of O (1976, Eric Rohmer)
A strangely excellent movie – beautifully shot and performed. It’s very straightforward, plot-wise. The central mystery is set up in the first scene (taking place at Cafe Exposition, populated by...
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Live-Action Shorts watched Nov-Dec 2013
Castello Cavalcanti (2013, Wes Anderson) Cute – Schwartzmann is a racecar driver who happens to crash in his ancestral village then decides to slow down and hang out for a while. Aningaaq (2013, Jonas...
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Out 1: Spectre (1972, Jacques Rivette)
Finally out on video, I got to watch this seven years after seeing Out 1 in theaters. Rosenbaum calls the two films “radically different,” but to me, it often felt simply like a shorter version of Out...
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Auteur Shorts, Summer 2014
Berenice (1954, Eric Rohmer) An Edgar Allen Poe story about a talky, sickly shut-in who stares at everyday objects all day is an odd choice for your first film. The guy (Rohmer himself!) lives with an...
View ArticleA Summer’s Tale (1996, Eric Rohmer)
Currently my favorite Rohmer movie. I’ve always thought his movies looked nice, but never thought they looked glorious until now, and I’m worried that’s because I watched this one in theaters, which...
View ArticleTale of Springtime (1990, Eric Rohmer)
“Simple conversations engender complicated human interactions,” says the IMDB plot description. Copy/paste to every Rohmer film. Restless Jeanne doesn’t want to stay at her boyfriend’s place while he’s...
View ArticleWinter’s Tale (1992, Eric Rohmer)
An inverse of Summer? In Summer, guy is waiting for girl 1, dates girls 2 & 3 in the meantime, when girl 1 finally arrives they don’t stay together. Here a girl is waiting for guy 1, dates guys 2...
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Autumn Tale (1998, Eric Rohmer)
Last of the Four Seasons, and the only one I had to watch at home (in HD, at least) since I missed the theatrical screening. Still a total pleasure. Maybe the happiest of the four, with no...
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The Aviator’s Wife (1981, Eric Rohmer)
Skipped the Golden Globes and watched this non-award-winning Rohmer movie instead. Rohmer’s lead characters aren’t always cool cats. In this case, kinda obsessive, immature Francois sees the ex of his...
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A Good Marriage (1982, Eric Rohmer)
Opens with 80’s dance music… I’ve been thrown off by the music in my early-decade French films lately. Sabine is Béatrice Romand from Autumn Tale, and the good marriage is all in her head – her...
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