Love in the Afternoon

L'amourl'après-midi (Eric Rohmer - 1972)  

It is an entry in Rohmer's Six Moral Tales and tells the story about a married man, Frederic, who contemplates a fling with a lady friend of the past. Clever dialogue, shot on a budget with few locations and good and believable acting. Sometimes less is more.

The film succeeds in making Frederic’s struggle engaging on an emphatic level and at the same time allows a disinterested view on the moral dilemma. I have never been able to explain to myself what makes Rohmer a great artist, but I think the answer may have something to do with the seemingly laidback, often whimsical, manner he treats the story and textual intentions behind it.

The classical dramaturgical movie does not merely present a string of events, but every element in the film is invested with meaning that leads up to the conclusion. This was challenged by the realist movement with movies that just unfold and let the viewer draw their own conclusions. On that axis Rohmer is somewhere in the middle.

Like Woody Allen the theme is not a subtle subtext you have to look for, but jumps right at your face from early on. The central character states loud and clear a fact about life and the rest of the film tests that claim. The characters representing positions (fidelity, conformity etc.) are exposed to “life” and at the end there is an evaluation if the initial claim.

To a greater extent than Allen chance and diversions can make the plot stray away from the issues at hand and muddle the conclusion. The entertainment value is not only seen the characters playing ball against a wall of textual construction, but the underlying subtext is in itself at play. In Rohmer’s films “life” can win over text”.

Viewed on a 2003 DVD release from Arrow Films featuring a 4:3 AR image.