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(Not actually Rohmer in this picture - isn't
Paris photogenic?)
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(Not actually Rohmer in this picture - isn't
Paris photogenic?)
ntroduction: One interesting thing about the web
is that it's pretty easy to find something that nobody else has done, and
do that. In that spirit, and until somebody else does it better and I
just link to them, here is a page that coordinates information about Eric
Rohmer, the French film director. By unofficial, I mean that I'm doing this
on my own, and Rohmer would probably be apalled at the whole idea, but here
we go anyway.
It's been about 20 years since I saw "The Aviator's
Wife," a simple film about a young man who trails the pilot with whom his
girlfriend is having an affair. Along the way, he meets a teenaged girl
who joins his quest for her own amusement, and momentarily diverts him.
Other people in the audience were grumbling as they left, with remarks
like "what a waste of time," but I had the opposite view. Here is a
filmmaker with the courage to make a film his own way, to make you care
about the characters simply because of the way they act, with no help from
music or special effects.
One reason I always enjoy a Rohmer film (although some more than others)
is that his characters never tell the truth about themselves, but you find
out what the truth is by watching their actions. In that way, every film is
like a puzzle. It's also enjoyable to see the audience reaction. I saw
"A tale of Springtime" at the Lincoln Center Theaters, and afterwards,
people walked out looking like they were living the film. After a "Tale
of Winter," you couldn't find anyone who wasn't crying at least a bit.
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A Tale of Winter |
The Aviator's Wife |
My night at Maud's |
Rayon Vert |
Chloe in the afternoon |
An Autumn Tale |
Perceval |
Boyfriends and Girlfriends |
Claire's Knee |
Pauline at the beach |
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is another general Rohmer site put together by Gary Tooze, a devoted fan. It's well organized and looks great, with a nice selection of graphics from day one.
Nearly 100 articles in findarticles.com
An online article by Alan Pavelin that looks at Rohmer's entire
career.
Rohmer chapter in AllMovie.com
Painting of Anne-Laurie Meury. A very nicely done Web oddity - a painting
inspired by one look on Meury's face in Aviator's Wife.
Eric Rohmer's Canvas by Alan A. Stone
IMDb (Internet Movie Database) listing of Rohmer
BoxOffice.com's look at Rohmer's career
A biography written for foreignfilms.com by a librarian
in Connecticut (me).
A review of "Tale of Autumn."
A translation of Notes by Rohmer on rear cover of
tome 2 of Comedies
et proverbes (Petite bibliotheque des Cahiers du cinema
, done by list member Andrew Clarke.
On top of the Wave and Against the stream, by Per Magnus
Roger Ebert's reviews of
A Tale of Springtime,
Boyfriends and Girlfriends,
Rendezvous in Paris, and
Summer (Rayon Vert).
And finally, for the
Jungians among us, a site that analyzes several of Rohmer's films in light
of the Enneagram.
I recently heard from a gentleman in Paris named Jean Louis Valero who worked as a composer on many of Rohmer's films, starting with Aviator's Wife. He has added a major Rohmer section to his page at http://perso.club-internet.fr/jlvalero, that includes memoirs of his own friendship with Rohmer. Priceless.
Daniel Salber:
Godard: "I don't care if you enjoy this movie or not. I just had to make it. Anyway movies are not about enjoyment." Rohmer: "I took great
care doing this movie because I believe in life and youth. I hope you
do too. If yes, you should enjoy the movie."
Shmuel Ben-Gad
Of course both Godard and Rohmer come out of the New Wave auteur
tradition, but both also, I think, have a wry view of the human condition,
perhaps Rohmer more consistently. I myself think that Rohmer is not
simply celebrating life and youth. I don't mean to be impolite, but
Rohmer's films' irony and distance and exploration of the complications
of celebrant of life and youth would be. One big difference between the
two, I think, is how they achieve their distance: Godard through playful
and anarchic intrusiveness and Rohmer through a classical and elegant
impersonality.
Comments to terry.ballard@quinnipiac.edu