Summary
Fifteen year old Pauline and her older cousin, Marion, share a holiday on the Atlantic
French coast. Marion meets up with a former friend, Pierre, who maintains a deep
attraction for her. However, Marion prefers the more adventurous Henri, even though
she knows the relationship will be short-lived. Meanwhile, Pauline is having a romance
of her own with an over-sexed teenage boy, Sylvain. Henri uses Pauline’s new boyfriend
to get himself out of a tricky situation with Marion, and Pauline is none too pleased...
Review
The third in Eric Rohmer’s series Comédies et proverbes is this light comedy
of summer romance, in which Rohmer explores the conflicting desires between men and women.
As is often the case with Rohmer, the director introduces contrasting characters to emphasise
the variety in human behaviour and to show how differently indivuals can react in similar
situations.
Marion is a very attractive woman who has little difficulty in attracting suitors, but
she seems to prefer the mad passionate fling that Henri gives her to the sustained loving
relationship that Pierre offers. This is set aside the fragile and tentative first
love of Pauline, which is as easily extinguished as it is rekindled.
The film is certainly one of Rohmer's most playful films, which could account for its
popularity in the United States. It perhaps lacks the maturity and depth of his
subsequent films but it is nonetheless a charming piece of minimalist cinema.
© James Travers 2000
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