Well folks, it’s officially the first day of summer, and I’m not sure there is any other director that has captured the feeling of the sweet sweaty season than the great Éric Rohmer. The way I remember it, at least. The sounds, the feelings — especially those European summers. Queue the deafening sound of cicadas. Lounging by the sea, the sound of surf and distant gulls. And then there’s the melancholy and the longing. That summer fling that ended too soon, the oppressive August days before summer wraps up for September, making way for autumn. Rohmer’s summer films taps into something that just feels hard to articulate. Look, they just move me, okay!?
So, to celebrate the start of summer, I’m putting up Rohmer’s 1983 film Pauline at the Beach, which isn’t really some major rarity, but for whatever reason, it’s currently unavailable to stream. And that’s terrible! I’m also adding something a little harder to find: The Making of a Summer’s Tale (2005) by Jean-André Fieschi, which as you can probably guess by the title, is a documentary on the filming of Rohmer’s super excellent A Summer’s Tale (1996). Another summer movie that, in my opinion, surpasses Pauline at the Beach.
And lastly, for some extra fun, I’m including The Adventures of Rosette (1983), five Super 8 shorts featuring Rosette, who plays a pivotal role in Pauline at the Beach. So if you had the hots for the red head, then this is a special treat just for you. Let’s get to it!
The Quick Gist
Pauline at the Beach is about a teenager who’s enjoying her final days of summer with her older cousin. They get involved with a few men, and deal with entanglements and fallouts of their respective summer flings.
The Making of a Summer’s Tale is pretty much all there in the title. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at A Summer’s Tale!
The Adventures of Rosette are five simple Super 8 shorts, ranging from 11 to 18 minutes, about Rosette and her escapades around town.
Pauline at the Beach
15-year-old Pauline and her older recently divorced cousin, Marion, head to the seaside to enjoy the final days of summer in peace. But when Marion runs into her old jealous lover, Pierre, things quickly get complicated. Especially since Pierre still happens to be in love with Marion. But of course, Marion has eyes on someone else, falling head over heels for none other than Pierre’s nemesis, Henri, a braggadocios lady’s man who lives only for himself and the immediate moment. How could she fall for a bad boy like that??? Nice guys sure do finish last, eh Pierre?
Pauline — interested in finding summer love herself — takes a fancy to the young Sylvain, who is more than eager to reciprocate her feelings. But when Marion and Pauline are out for the day, Henri finds himself flirting with his old fling, complicating everyone’s relationship even further, with Pauline being unwillingly caught up in it all.
Pauline at the Beach is a classic Rohmer tale, with men who can’t get out from under their own egos, jealousy, love, and frivolous affairs that feel, in the moment, utterly life changing. And you know, sometimes they are! Like so many of Rohmer’s movies, Pauline is a part of a collection; in this case “Comedies and Proverbs,” which comes after his “Six Moral Tales,” which tell the stories of insecure men, with inflated egos. One reviewer summarizes one difference between these two collections:
If the theme of “Morals” was the ideals that men fabricate in their own minds to justify ‘proper’ love, then “Comedies” shows the outward effects of these mental manipulations. That is; their effects on women. - theriverjordan
The Six Moral Tales have at their center men who would go to any length to justify their actions. Not necessarily morally reprehensible men, just men who are often too in love with their own intellect. In Pauline, the third of its respective series, we get a better look at how the actions of these manipulating self-important silly men affect the women in their lives. That’s not to say that the women are bastions of solid decision making. Marion herself knows that, for better or worse, she’s drawn to Henri for his brash ego. And it doesn’t help that Pierre’s jealousy makes it even more appealing to her. Ultimately it’s the young Pauline who comes away seeming the most mature out of all of them.
Overall, Pauline at the Beach is a lovely little film. And if you’re a Rohmer fan, it’s sure to tick all the boxes: romantic, existential, melancholic, excellent dialogue, and beautiful vivid photography by his often used cinematographer, Néstor Almendros. It’s a charming little movie. A certified summer classic!
The Making of a Summer’s Tale
Like I mentioned up above, it’s pretty much all in the title for this rare doc. More a fly-on-the wall observation of an 80 year old Rohmer doing his thing with his crew than it is a technical breakdown of how the master does it. Plus some epic shots of old ass Rohmer cutting it up on the dance floor. For Rohmer heads, merely watching his group of actors and observing his process from a different angle is a joy in and of itself.
Note: Due to a difficult subtitle file, watching this with English subtitles is currently only possible through the Plex server.
The Adventures of Rosette
The Adventures of Rosette is a collection of five Super 8 films made by Rohmer and Rosette, and feature a handful of Rohmer regulars, including many of the main actors featured in Pauline. In fact, the titular Pauline, played by Amanda Langlet, is in all three of these movies! Rohmer even makes a cameo as Rosette’s strict father.
But if you’re looking for some existential films that probe deep into the questions of love, into the fleeting nature of relationships, you’re not going to find them here. These are just some fun little shorts, hastily made with super simple premises; with titles like “Rosette Takes a Shower” and “Rosette Steals from the Thieves!” Rosette sums it up well:
In the early 80's, I started shooting Rosette's adventures in Super 8. They were vacation films made in complete freedom with a family of friends I met in Eric's world (Arielle, Pascal, Marie, Amanda, Béatrice, Virginie, François-Marie...). Eric, who had a camera, took care of the image and this allowed him to practice while having fun, sometimes he even played a small role. This lightness inspired him, I believe, for films like Le rayon vert or Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle.
These group of shorts are fun, and a cool little curiosity for Rohmer lovers. Join the spunky Rosette as she steals underwear, scams douchey businessmen, and looks for an apartment!
So there you have it. A couple of flicks to kick off summer. Stay sticky and stay sweaty!
Password to watch on the site: rohmerandrosette
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