I decided to see this movie after I saw that in 1971 it made #1 and #3 respectively on Siskel and Ebert's top 10 movie list for that year.
Many of the other reviews do an excellent job at plot summary and imaginative interpretation, so I won't be redundant, but there are several interesting scenes that have double meanings that I hadn't seen explicitly pointed out and there are also some scenes that in 2007 don't come across so successfully as they apparently did back in 1971.
The story takes place near Annecy in the French Alps, and revolves around the visit of Jerome a 35+ year old diplomat, to a vacation cottage where his friend Aurora an aging novelist, is staying with two young girls, the precocious Laura 16 and the beautiful and aloof Claire 18.
The scenery of the river (the River Thiou?) and surrounding mountains is simply staggering, and its hard not to be jealous of the easy life these characters have.
Note the physical intimacy Jerome has with Aurora, how they fondle and grope each other during conversation, then later between Jerome and the child Laura, as they cuddle together in the mountains. Contrast this with the unapproachable Claire, who Jerome desperately wants to get close to, but whose desires are unrequited.
This film is largely about the self-delusion of the diplomat Jerome, and the manipulative craftwork of the novelist Aurora, who plainly refers to the people she lives with, along with Jerome, as "Guinea pigs" to find inspiration from for her stories. In a moment of unintentional comedy, Aurora describes her life without any significant others, offering "I've been alone for more than a year. It's very pleasant."
In a telling exchange between Jerome and Aurora, Jerome confesses he is frustrated he has not made it into her stories. She then offers suggestively that even if he slept with someone the night before his wedding she still wouldn't write about him. "And if I didn't sleep with her?" he says. "The story would be better. Things mustn't happen." (sic) Well call me naïve but I like see a plot filled out with things happening. But here at least we see Rohmer's modus operandi.
Aurora suggests Jerome lead on the young Laura, so she has something to write about. Jerome eventually takes Laura for a hike on La Tournette. Alone they rest in each others arms, Laura asks Jerome if he's happier with her or his wife. After frolicking for a bit, the bearded Jerome suddenly starts making out with the 16 year old. She pulls away, saying she wants to be in love for real
Soon thereafter we meet Claire for the first time, tanned and tone in a skimpy bikini, and her brash and handsome boyfriend Gilles. It's clear that Claire and Gilles are perfect for each other, both young, capricious, impudent, and beautiful. At one point Gilles drives a motorboat through a group of swimming campers, then tells the complaining camp counselor something to the effect of, "Take a hike, Grandpa".
Jerome admits to Aurora that Claire arouses old desires in him. He becomes jealous of Gilles and believes he doesn't deserve her. In one scene they all go out dancing. Note how the camera lingers on Jerome after he is rejected by Claire after asking her to dance. His emotions wander and ramble from frustration, to self pity, to false recovered confidence, to introspection. The precocious Laura notices it all.
The day comes when Jerome sees Gilles being intimate with another girl. When Claire and Jerome are alone taking shelter from a storm, he uses this as a weapon to break down Claire's guard. Its an age-old drama, the jealous guy tries to win a girl's favor by ratting out her cheating boyfriend. It never works as intended. In this case Claire cries, and Jerome uses the opportunity to caress her knee. It's as close as he will ever get. The camera cuts to the banks of the river, which are now dark, choppy, and muddy. Like the thoughts and emotions of the characters. It's as if nature is disapproving.
Later Jerome accurately describes the whole incident to the curious Aurora. He mentions how fortuitous the incident was, that he no longer desires Claire because its as if he's already had her (self-deception), and that she will now break up with the undeserving Gilles (not a chance, as her jealousy over Gilles only makes her more attracted to him).
When Jerome finally departs from the cottage, Claire pretends to be sleeping and does not see him off. When Gilles arrives shortly afterward, she bounds out of the house in full tennis apparel, implying she was in hiding from Jerome and presumably had no desire to see him again.
As Claire and Gilles sit arm in arm on a park bench while Aurora spies on them, it seems clearer than ever that Jerome was indeed the guinea pig, and has finally made it into Aurora's stories.
Many of the other reviews do an excellent job at plot summary and imaginative interpretation, so I won't be redundant, but there are several interesting scenes that have double meanings that I hadn't seen explicitly pointed out and there are also some scenes that in 2007 don't come across so successfully as they apparently did back in 1971.
The story takes place near Annecy in the French Alps, and revolves around the visit of Jerome a 35+ year old diplomat, to a vacation cottage where his friend Aurora an aging novelist, is staying with two young girls, the precocious Laura 16 and the beautiful and aloof Claire 18.
The scenery of the river (the River Thiou?) and surrounding mountains is simply staggering, and its hard not to be jealous of the easy life these characters have.
Note the physical intimacy Jerome has with Aurora, how they fondle and grope each other during conversation, then later between Jerome and the child Laura, as they cuddle together in the mountains. Contrast this with the unapproachable Claire, who Jerome desperately wants to get close to, but whose desires are unrequited.
This film is largely about the self-delusion of the diplomat Jerome, and the manipulative craftwork of the novelist Aurora, who plainly refers to the people she lives with, along with Jerome, as "Guinea pigs" to find inspiration from for her stories. In a moment of unintentional comedy, Aurora describes her life without any significant others, offering "I've been alone for more than a year. It's very pleasant."
In a telling exchange between Jerome and Aurora, Jerome confesses he is frustrated he has not made it into her stories. She then offers suggestively that even if he slept with someone the night before his wedding she still wouldn't write about him. "And if I didn't sleep with her?" he says. "The story would be better. Things mustn't happen." (sic) Well call me naïve but I like see a plot filled out with things happening. But here at least we see Rohmer's modus operandi.
Aurora suggests Jerome lead on the young Laura, so she has something to write about. Jerome eventually takes Laura for a hike on La Tournette. Alone they rest in each others arms, Laura asks Jerome if he's happier with her or his wife. After frolicking for a bit, the bearded Jerome suddenly starts making out with the 16 year old. She pulls away, saying she wants to be in love for real
Soon thereafter we meet Claire for the first time, tanned and tone in a skimpy bikini, and her brash and handsome boyfriend Gilles. It's clear that Claire and Gilles are perfect for each other, both young, capricious, impudent, and beautiful. At one point Gilles drives a motorboat through a group of swimming campers, then tells the complaining camp counselor something to the effect of, "Take a hike, Grandpa".
Jerome admits to Aurora that Claire arouses old desires in him. He becomes jealous of Gilles and believes he doesn't deserve her. In one scene they all go out dancing. Note how the camera lingers on Jerome after he is rejected by Claire after asking her to dance. His emotions wander and ramble from frustration, to self pity, to false recovered confidence, to introspection. The precocious Laura notices it all.
The day comes when Jerome sees Gilles being intimate with another girl. When Claire and Jerome are alone taking shelter from a storm, he uses this as a weapon to break down Claire's guard. Its an age-old drama, the jealous guy tries to win a girl's favor by ratting out her cheating boyfriend. It never works as intended. In this case Claire cries, and Jerome uses the opportunity to caress her knee. It's as close as he will ever get. The camera cuts to the banks of the river, which are now dark, choppy, and muddy. Like the thoughts and emotions of the characters. It's as if nature is disapproving.
Later Jerome accurately describes the whole incident to the curious Aurora. He mentions how fortuitous the incident was, that he no longer desires Claire because its as if he's already had her (self-deception), and that she will now break up with the undeserving Gilles (not a chance, as her jealousy over Gilles only makes her more attracted to him).
When Jerome finally departs from the cottage, Claire pretends to be sleeping and does not see him off. When Gilles arrives shortly afterward, she bounds out of the house in full tennis apparel, implying she was in hiding from Jerome and presumably had no desire to see him again.
As Claire and Gilles sit arm in arm on a park bench while Aurora spies on them, it seems clearer than ever that Jerome was indeed the guinea pig, and has finally made it into Aurora's stories.