Pauline à la plage
20/02/16 Filed in: Amazon Prime
Yet another French film from Amazon Prime. Made in 1983, I found the acting a bit wooden, but given that the Rotten Tomatoes review awards it 100% from the critics (87% audience), who am I to judge?
I believe that the acclaim for the film probably rests with the fame of its director, Éric Rohmer, described by the Daily Telegraph after his death in 2010 as "the most durable film-maker of the French New Wave", and with his characterisation of the four principal people.
Pauline arrives with her older cousin Marion at the family holiday home on the coast of north-west France. They soon meet up with an ex boyfriend of Marion, Pierre, who is clearly overjoyed to see her again, and hopes to renew their partnership. But Marion has other ideas, and is soon involved with Henri, an older man who is clearly a bit of a womaniser, and to whom Pierre takes an instant dislike.
Pauline, meanwhile, is observing all of this, while having also struck up a friendship with a local lad, Sylvain. Marion's not too keen on Sylvain, while at the same time she is pursuing what is clearly an affair with Henri that's going nowhere. Her advice to Pauline is, therefore, somewhat hypocritical, and doesn't carry much weight.
I believe that the acclaim for the film probably rests with the fame of its director, Éric Rohmer, described by the Daily Telegraph after his death in 2010 as "the most durable film-maker of the French New Wave", and with his characterisation of the four principal people.
Pauline arrives with her older cousin Marion at the family holiday home on the coast of north-west France. They soon meet up with an ex boyfriend of Marion, Pierre, who is clearly overjoyed to see her again, and hopes to renew their partnership. But Marion has other ideas, and is soon involved with Henri, an older man who is clearly a bit of a womaniser, and to whom Pierre takes an instant dislike.
Pauline, meanwhile, is observing all of this, while having also struck up a friendship with a local lad, Sylvain. Marion's not too keen on Sylvain, while at the same time she is pursuing what is clearly an affair with Henri that's going nowhere. Her advice to Pauline is, therefore, somewhat hypocritical, and doesn't carry much weight.
Henri meanwhile comes close to getting caught out during some bedroom antics with a local beach girl, avoiding guilt by implicating Sylvain, which then leads to a rift between Sylvain and Pauline. All the while Pierre is becoming more and more frustrated, as he knows exactly what Henri is, but can't persuade Marion. During all of this Pauline shows a great deal of maturity, and I was particularly impressed with the wisdom she exhibited over a meal with Pierre.
This is really what the film is all about, namely Pauline's growing maturity in the presence of a group of older people who are enacting a range of adult emotions. The final sequence when Pauline and Marion are leaving is perfect, in that both women agree disparate views of the same incident, each agreeing to believe what best soothes their emotions.
As for the accessibility of the French, this must be one of the clearest dialogues I've yet come across in a French film. It's mostly in the form of one to one conversations, the vocabulary isn't too difficult and there's not too much colloquialism. I highly recommend it for anybody learning French.
And finally I must mention that the actress who plays Marion, Arielle Dombasle, has the most amazing figure. To paraphrase what Henri says when explaining why he doesn't love Marion - physically she's just too perfect.
This is really what the film is all about, namely Pauline's growing maturity in the presence of a group of older people who are enacting a range of adult emotions. The final sequence when Pauline and Marion are leaving is perfect, in that both women agree disparate views of the same incident, each agreeing to believe what best soothes their emotions.
As for the accessibility of the French, this must be one of the clearest dialogues I've yet come across in a French film. It's mostly in the form of one to one conversations, the vocabulary isn't too difficult and there's not too much colloquialism. I highly recommend it for anybody learning French.
And finally I must mention that the actress who plays Marion, Arielle Dombasle, has the most amazing figure. To paraphrase what Henri says when explaining why he doesn't love Marion - physically she's just too perfect.