watch all of Eric Rohmer's feature-length, commercially-released movies (or is that films?)

but this week we watched “le beau mariage.” I thought it ok; the main character was annoying but quirkily sympathetic nonetheless. So now I get to edit my list.

K. came with me to mass and then we moved a harp and then went to breakfast. At some point Bruno Ganz’s name came up and I told him that someday I would show him The Marquise of O, or he should at least read the story. I then mentioned that it was a Rohmer film and he said “really? I thought I had seen all of Rohmer’s films. I love Eric Rohmer!”

Be still my heart.

I thought that I would have to except these from my list because I didn’t think that I would be able to find them because they are short and weren’t released commercially. But hooray for Criterion!! They released both together on DVD and I found it at the awesome video store near my apartment.

Since it is two for one on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I also picked up a René Clair film. I think in future I will also set goals for his films and probably Robert Bresson as well.

I knew that this one would by highly idiosyncratic, and yet it still struck me how off-beat it was. Very difficult to describe. First there are the omnipresent early music people, singing and playing material from the 12th and 13th centuries. God help me, some of it I recognized. Then there are the sets, which are highly stylized. Then there is the highly figural, and still opaque narrative. In many ways very Rohmer-like, but in most of the obvious ways, a huge departure, even from his other period pieces.

Also very long. I was fascinated, but happy that I was watching it on video and could break for dinner.

The ones I have seen already are in bold.

Contes moraux (Six Moral Tales):

1963 #1 La Boulangère de Monceau (The Bakery Girl of Monceau) — short, not released theatrically
1963 #2 La Carrière de Suzanne (Suzanne's Career) — short, not released theatrically
1967 #4 La Collectionneuse (The Collector)
1969 #3 Ma nuit chez Maud (My Night at Maud's) — although planned as the third moral tale, its production was delayed due to the unavailability of actor Jean-Louis Trintignant and consequently it was released after the fourth tale.
1970 #5 Le Genou de Claire (Claire's Knee)
1972 #6 L'Amour l'après-midi (Love in the Afternoon/Chloe in the Afternoon)

Comédies et Proverbes (Comedies and Proverbs):

1980 La Femme de l'aviateur (The Aviator's Wife) — "It is impossible to think about nothing." 
1982 Le Beau mariage (A Good Marriage) — "Can anyone refrain from building castles in Spain?" 
1983 Pauline à la plage (Pauline At The Beach) — "He who talks too much will hurt himself." 
1984 Les Nuits de la pleine lune (Full Moon In Paris) — "He who has two women loses his soul, he who has two houses loses his mind." 
1986 Le Rayon vert (The Green Ray/Summer) — "Ah, for the days/that set our hearts ablaze," 
1987 L'Ami de mon amie (My Girlfriend's Boyfriend/Boyfriends And Girlfriends) — "My friends' friends are my friends."

Contes des quatre saisons (Tales of the Four Seasons):

1990 Conte de printemps (A Tale Of Springtime)
1992 Conte d'hiver (A Winter's Tale/A Tale of Winter)
1996 Conte d'été (A Summer's Tale)
1998 Conte d'automne (Autumn Tale)

Non-series

1959 Le Signe du lion
1976 La Marquise d'O... (The Marquise of O...)
1978 Perceval le Gallois
1987 Quatre Aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle (Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle)
1993 L'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèque (The Tree, The Mayor, and the Mediatheque)
1995 Les Rendez-vous de Paris (Rendezvous in Paris)
2000 L'Anglaise et le duc (The Lady And The Duke)
2004 Triple Agent
2007 Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon

I liked it better than I thought I would. As a general rule I like the comedies and proverbs series better than the six moral tales, but there are exceptions in both directions. The main character was very well drawn.