The Marquis Of O [1976] [DVD]

The heart has it's reasons
NOTE: These reviews of six films by Eric Rohmer might tell you more than you want to know about them if you haven't seen them. The films are essential viewing for anyone with the slightest interest in other human beings. If you haven't seen them, let's compare notes when you do.

WHEN ERIC ROHMER (1920-2010) died the comment on everyone's lips seemed to be that from Arthur Penn's Night Moves in which private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman), says: 'I saw a Rohmer film once. It was kind of like watching paint dry.' This was actually a way of delineating the character of Moseby, but it brings up the concept of 'action' in cinema in a useful way. People want to believe that action, say a car chase scene, is more cinematic than, say, a love scene, which is static. Behind that is the wish to restrict film to be the conveyor of the emotion of excitement. This probably comes about because most Hollywood films are in fact remakes of The Great Train Robbery, Edwin S Porter's 1903 film...

Some of the best films of this meister of French cinema
Rohmer is up there with Bergman, Fellini and other great cinematic pioneers. But look for this collection in Amazon's British website, where you can buy it for less than half (including shipping!) of what US vendors are charging.

" I show people who move and speak"
List of Rohmer films from The Eric Rohmer Collection in date order/preference order
Love in the Afternoon 1972 1) The Green Ray
The Marquess of O 1976 2) Pauline at the Beach
The Aviator's Wife 1980 3)Love in the Afternoon
A Good Marriage 1982 4)The Aviator's Wife
Pauline at the Beach 1983 5)The Marquise of O
Full Moon in Paris 1984 6)A Good Marriage
The Green Ray 1986 7)Full Moon in Paris
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend 1987 8) My Girlfirend's Boyfriend

Rohmer shot this series of 8 films over 15 years.They contain the whole Comedies and Proverbs series,where Rohmer turned to young heroines after his ironic focus on middle-aged males in the Moral Tales.In this series he consistently offered rewarding lead roles to women,notably Marie Riviere(The Green Ray) and Beatrice Romand(AGood Marriage),who rounded off the 4 Seasons as a triumphant double act in A Tale of Autumn.The outstanding episode,The Green Ray, where a woman can't decide where to...

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