Éric Rohmer (1920-2010)

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sevenarts · #26 Post by **sevenarts** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 1:14 pm

Michael wrote:Le Rayon Vert - what an astounding film! I can't forgive myself for letting it slide by for years. Watching it last night, I was completely transfixed by how lovely it was. The woman's performance was wonderful and that was an amazingly precise character development. That was my first Rohmer venture. What should be next for me?

Nice. The wonderful thing about Rohmer is that if you like one film by him, you're pretty much guaranteed to enjoy the bulk of his others as well. He's remarkably consistent, both in tone/content and in (high) quality. The Green Ray is somewhere in the middle of my own personal Rohmer ranking, it's an excellent film.

I'd recommend diving into the Six Moral Tales next -- the Criterion box set is wonderfully assembled, the films are all incredible, and there are some very interesting short films as extras. If you're just looking for a more moderate one or two films to check out next, I'd most heartily point you towards the charming The Aviator's Wife (possibly my favorite Rohmer), and the utterly classic My Night At Maud's. The latter is one of the Moral Tales, and the former is part of the same Comedies & Proverbs series that also houses The Green Ray.

Jean-Luc Garbo · #27 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:49 pm

I'd second watching Six Moral Tales next. In particular, I'd say watch Claire's Knee (my first Rohmer) or My Night With Maud.

Kenji · #28 Post by **Kenji** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:58 pm

Well, Rohmer is one of my favourite directors, and source of consistent pleasure. More visually expressive than often given credit for- aware of the importance of environment, colour, the seasons and small movements and gestures. He's considered by many as a dialogue-heavy director yet his films are usually light and airy, and the dialogue is often wonderfully natural (improvised at times).

I would most strongly recommend The Green Ray (especially having seen the effect itself for real with my wife, a memory to cherish) Claire's Knee, My Night with Maud and My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. Triple Agent and Marquise of O i found slightly disappointing. An intelligent and insightful critic in the 1950's, still going strong into his 80's with fresh and youthful films.

Here's an old list of his top 10, back in 1962, which may help with early influences:

True Heart Susie
The General
Sunrise
La Regle du Jeu
Ivan the Terrible
Voyage to Italy
Red River
Vertigo
Pickpocket
La Pyramide Humaine.

For me, the small Bressonian gestures and Rossellini's Voyage to Italy (eg in The Green Ray) seem most relevant. He also admired Mizoguchi. He upset quite a few French with an apparently reactionary, surprisingly sympathetic portrait of aristocacy at the time of the French revolution, in Lady and the Duke, a fine and adventurous film i.m.o.

Greathinker · #29 Post by **Greathinker** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:35 pm

Wowzie, do you dream of lists at night Kenji?

About Rohmer, I really need to see more. I've only checked out his Bakery Girl, My Night at Mauds, and the short film about the steak-- the short films are amazing and reaffirm my belief that they are too often an undervalued medium and can compare to feature length works if given the chance.

Kenji · #30 Post by **Kenji** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:55 pm

Ah, i've seen 19-20 of his films, but i do need to see the earliest ones. Sleep is a touchy subject; I might dream better if i didn't get woken up by guns terrifying my poor dogs in the early hours.

Mr Sheldrake · #31 Post by **Mr Sheldrake** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:50 pm

I love the ending in Boyfriends and Girlfriends. I found myself clapping with delight the last time I watched it. I don't do that very often, alone in my living room. I'd place that with Summer (The Green Ray) as my two favorites.

Kenji · #32 Post by **Kenji** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:57 pm

Yeah, Boyfriends and Girlfriends (aka My Girlfriend's Boyfriend) is a real charmer. Excellent colour schemes, with lovely greens and blues, very likeable protaganists (well, the one pairing anyway- i'm very taken with Emmanuelle Chaulet), a romantic summery treat....should be much better known.

Kenji · #33 Post by **Kenji** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:02 pm

Here's something i prepared earlier.

CLAIRE'S KNEE.

Director: Eric Rohmer
Cast: Beatrice Romand, Jean-Claude Brialy, Aurora Cornu, Laurence de Monaghan

FRANCE, 1970. CERT: PG. 105 MINS

A title and a film to cherish. The fifth in Rohmer's series of six Moral Tales, Claire's Knee covers a month of full summer at Lake Annecy in the French Alps. Away from his rather severe-looking fiancÃ©e, a 35 year-old diplomat (Jean-Claude Brialy) encounters a female Romanian novelist friend (played by the writer herself, Aurora Cornu), who encourages him to flirt with an amiable teenage girl at whose lakeside home she is staying. When his attentions divert to the pretty but disinterested 17 year-old step-sister, he fixates on the eponymous feature.

As in his previous, equally assured masterpiece My Night with Maud- indeed, as throughout a prolific and consistent career spanning the six decades since he and fellow "Cahiers du Cinema" critics Godard, Truffaut and other New Wave stalwarts turned director - Claire's Knee is a lucid analysis of temptation, moral choices and the fine details of relationships, all delivered with a gosssamer dexterity.

Where Maud's crisp black and white was instilled with a cool wintry precision, Claire's Knee captures the essence of summer with the agile grace of a swallow. Cinematographer on both films, Nestor Almendros delights in the warmth of the season, the lush vegetation and the gorgeous blues and greens of the setting, which once captivated the painter Cezanne.

A typically deft and wholly cinematic Rohmerian blend of insightful observation, generous humanism, delicate visual touches and sophisticated dialogue (though the director's sophistication invariably exceeds that of his characters), the film gently punctures the protagonist's tendency to condescension by exposing to the viewer realities of which he is blithely unaware. The concentrated eroticism of the moment when he caresses the specific object of his desire is astonishing for both its circumstances and also an understatement which shames Hollywood's ludicrous grandstanding.

Filled with deeply satisfying sensual and intellectual pleasures, Claire's Knee has retained all its charm and freshness; as seemingly ageless as its ever-youthful creator.

#34 Post by **domino harvey** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:19 pm

Prepared that for what, exactly? It's pretty but it doesn't say anything other than a string of poster-ready quotes about supposed attributes the film possesses without calling into evidence any such specific instances. A stark meditation on the nature of humanity!

justeleblanc · #35 Post by **justeleblanc** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:09 pm

"A puckish satire of contemporary mores. A droll spoof aimed more at the heart than the head. "

Kenji · #36 Post by **Kenji** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:18 pm

Ah yes, well, that's a good point and skewer,- it was a short summary review i did some time back for another purpose, but obviously mainly designed to say what i like about it, and make some general observations on Rohmer.

There's been some criticism of the film as being pretentiously intellectual and talky, and also of the casting of BÃ©atrice Romand, a Rohmer regular, for being too young as a flirty potential object of desire, verging on awkward hints of paedophilia, though in fact she was much older than she looked at the time. The film is one of a series that deals with (often sexual) temptations and moral choices- in Maud for a Catholic staying overnight at the home of a beautiful woman, tempted to sleep together. Rohmerian dialogue has very few quotable, memorable lines; his screenwriting, though admired as intelligent and elegant, isn't set up for clever soundbites a la Hollywood, but to represent the reality of the characters. I was impressed with Linklater's Before Sunrise as perhaps the most Rohmerian American film, with similar qualities. Le Chignon d'Olga is a French one clearly influenced by Rohmer, the title acknowledging its debt. I'll take a closer look at the film again soon- it's now several years since i saw it.

The visual style is far from pretentious or self-indulgent; Rohmer's is a cinema of glances not broad gestures, swooping camerawork, flashy editing etc, which may account for many considering him uncinematic.

p.s justlebanc; just noticed your excellent avatar.

ellipsis7 · #37 Post by **ellipsis7** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:07 am

Of course Rohmer's thesis was on Murnau's Faust, published now by Cahiers du Cinema along with many of his scripts...

Just published is Derek Schilling's Eric Rohmer in the Manchester University Press French Film Directors series (Stateside it comes in September).... Really excellent book and the first in English since Colin Crisp's 1988 monograph...

tavernier · #38 Post by **tavernier** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:03 pm

justeleblanc wrote:"A puckish satire of contemporary mores. A droll spoof aimed more at the heart than the head. "

Woodman quotes are always useful.... 8-)

"It was weak, I was never interested."

Rsdio · #39 Post by **Rsdio** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:15 am

So even though I'm totally skint and really, really shouldn't, the prices at Sendit for the Artificial Eye Early Works and The Four Seasons box are tempting me to give Rohmer a try. Which would be the best way to go for an introduction? Or would stumping up a little more for the Arrow set or even the Criterion be preferable?

ellipsis7 · #40 Post by **ellipsis7** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:25 am

The CC's SIX MORAL TALES is the best starting point, then you can work forward through the Arrow set which is essentially his second series - the 6 films that make up COMEDIES AND PROVERBS, plus MARQUIS OF O (& LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON, the last MORAL TALE)... That could be followed by his third series - THE FOUR SEASONS 4 film box set, while working backwards the EARLY WORKS disc has his first feature LE SIGNE DU LION plus LE BOULANGERE DE MONCEAU & LE CARRIERE DU SUZANNE, the first 2 MORAL TALES, plus shorts & docs - making a little overlap with CC's set, but still worth it IMHO....

MichaelB · #41 Post by **MichaelB** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:01 am

ellipsis7 wrote:The CC's SIX MORAL TALES is the best starting point, then you can work forward through the Arrow set which is essentially his second series - the 6 films that make up COMEDIES AND PROVERBS, plus MARQUIS OF O (& LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON, the last MORAL TALE)... That could be followed by his third series - THE FOUR SEASONS 4 film box set, while working backwards the EARLY WORKS disc has his first feature LE SIGNE DU LION plus LE BOULANGERE DE MONCEAU & LE CARRIERE DU SUZANNE, the first 2 MORAL TALES, plus shorts & docs - making a little overlap with CC's set, but still worth it IMHO....

That's pretty much the route I went along, and in the same order: I completely agree you should start with the Moral Tales. But I'd also strongly recommend purchasing Fox Lorber's PERCEVAL LE GALLOIS - I don't remember it being too bad a DVD, and the film is utterly extraordinary: a complete one-off in not just Rohmer's canon but anyone else's.

Rsdio · #42 Post by **Rsdio** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:04 am

Thanks, sounds like I should keep my card in my pocket for the moment then. I suppose that's good news in one way, at least.

Jean-Luc Garbo · #43 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:24 pm

MichaelB wrote: But I'd also strongly recommend purchasing Fox Lorber's PERCEVAL LE GALLOIS - I don't remember it being too bad a DVD, and the film is utterly extraordinary: a complete one-off in not just Rohmer's canon but anyone else's.

I thought that the OAR on that DVD was wrong.

#44 Post by **domino harvey** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:28 pm

Has anyone heard anything about a release date for his last movie?

Barmy · #45 Post by **Barmy** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:28 pm

I'd say unreleasable (theatrically, and possibly DVDally) in the US. The market is already glutted with pastoral cross-dressing dramas. And it's in a foreign language to boot.

MichaelB · #46 Post by **MichaelB** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:06 pm

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:I thought that the OAR on that DVD was wrong.

The DVD is 1.33:1 (it's playing on my MacBook as I write this).

Cinematographer Nestor Almendros doesn't mention the aspect ratio in his chapter on Perceval in his book 'A Man with a Camera', but the filmography says that it's 1.33:1. Given the book's subject, I can't believe this wouldn't have been scrupulously checked.

And I've just had a spin through the disc on fast-forward, and 1.33:1 looks bang on - there's not the slightest sign of any cropping at the sides (the blocking and compositions are extremely precise), and there's not even that much headroom. I'd say you could just about get away with cropping it to 1.66:1 (as many cinemas would probably have been forced to do by the late 1970s), but I'd definitely favour the full-frame version.

Jean-Luc Garbo · #47 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:22 pm

Thanks! This information helps immeasurably since this is one of my top five Rohmer films. I love Almendros' work so you can understand my question about the OAR. By next week I should have the copy I just ordered.

GaryC · #48 Post by **GaryC** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 7:12 pm

A couple of questions concerning two Rohmer features (excluding his new one) which I haven't seen...

The TV movie Catherine de Heilbronn (available as a second disc in Gaumont's edition of La marquise d'O). Does this have any subtitles at all, even just French ones?

Same question about L'arbre, le maire et la mÃ©diathÃ¨que, which is available in France as part of the Eric Rohmer: Ancien et Moderne box set?

I'm afraid my French isn't up to following a Rohmer film without subtitles. French ones I can handle, but not none at all!

Kinsayder · #49 Post by **Kinsayder** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:20 pm

No, there are no subs on either of those titles in the Gaumont box. La Marquise d'O... does have optional French subs, as the audio is in German.

GaryC · #50 Post by **GaryC** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:37 am

Thanks - I thought that would be the case. Oh well.