Customer Reviews

Autumn Tale [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The most droll of romances yet from a great storyteller. Nothing seems lacking, nothing seems excessive in plot or characterization. The subtle refinement of the dialogue leaves one smiling with delight. The craft of this piece of art, the beauty of the Rhone valley (slowly being spoiled with industry), the sunswept fields, the wind, and that, acts on the heart like the last drops of a fine wine on the palate. I somewhat doubt that anyone much under forty can fully appreciate the bittersweet qualities of this tale, but for those who have lived enough to have found themselves solitary at an age when stoic resignation is considered a virtue, and dedication to career is seen as a cure, the universality of Magali's cri de couer is full of poignant charm. As so often before Rohmer emphasizes the contingency of romantic attachment while creating two of the most appealing and deserving heroines. The fact that they are the most mature women he has yet depicted suggests that, like Magali's vintage, he feels that one can't really appreciate life until it's been allowed time to ripen.

As I walked out of the theatre from this film, my whole being felt moved. It's very simplicity is endearing. The natural beauty of the actors was refreshing. They weren't glamorous or beautiful, and Magali strikes you as almost plain as the film commences. But you still grow to love her carefree spirit and the way she loves her work. In addition, the cinematography is commendable and you just want to drown yourself in the vineyards of France when you see it. There are times when the whole thing just seems droll. You feel as if you are stepping back in time, but not so much that you lose the comfortable understanding you assume with the characters. I love watching this movie, and I absolutely watch it again and again.

Isabella, played by Marie Riviere, a happily married book-seller, has sympathy for the lonely plight of her best friend Magali, played by Beatrice Romand, a wine grower. Deciding to do something about it, she advertises in a lonely heart's column and, pretending to be Magali, goes on her first date with Gerald,
charmingly played by Alain Libolt. Two weeks and several pleasant dates later she confesses her deception, explains her reason for it, and invites him to her daughter's wedding where she tells him he can meet the real Magali - as if by accident. He accepts the invitation and he and Magali have a lovely encounter in which each makes a very promising impression on the other. But the euphoria she feels does not last. Only moments later she is bitterly disappointed to learn from her son's girl friend that he and Isabella have been meeting in secret. Her disappointment turns to resentment when she catches them behaving in a more than friendly fashion.

But it seems to me that what she sees is a plot contrivance put in to add drama and tension to the story line. Without it there would be no film. But it is still a central flaw which undermines the films reality. In one brief minute, in contradiction of everything she has said and that we know about her, Isabella comes on to Gerald and seems to be trying to seduce him. It seems so out of character that you wonder what on earth she is playing at. And at that moment, without either of them noticing who it is, the door is opened by Magali who seeing them together feels that all her hopes for happiness have been shattered. She feels betrayed. Isabella's subsequent explanation that it was only a peck on the cheek to thank him for liking her friend doesn't hold water, and flies in the face of what we remember. And then she has to face the ordeal of being driven home by Gerald, and her struggle to suppress her rage and inner turmoil is superbly acted. She fails of course and leaves him abruptly, convinced that all now is lost.

The ending of the film is a little inconclusive, leaving the question hanging; was Isabella coming on to Gerald or not? and if so what does it portend for the future of all three? But that is another film.

This one is typically Rohmer; warm, intimate, a film in which nothing much happens but in which considerable pleasure is to be derived from listening to the charming character's very real conversations and watching their very subtle and ever changing facial expressions. Just to be in their company is enough.

And he knows how to write dialogue that is revealing, engaging and realistic, no small feat; and it is perhaps this talent more than anything else that has made Eric Rohmer the great director that he is. Here uses France's Cotes du Rhone wine country as a backdrop and symbol to help him explore not only autumn love, but the enduring friendship of two very different women. Isabelle (Maire Revière) is an elegant, tall, fair haired, blue-eyed haute bourgeoisie and her friend Magali (Beatrice Romand) is a short, earthy, dark-haired petite winemaker originally from Tunisia. Isabelle is happily married; Magali is divorced. They are both forty-something.

Isabelle's daughter is to be married. But the focus of the film is not on the bride and groom, but on the older generation, on Isabelle and Magali. In this way Rohmer combines the warm and enchantment of the celebration of autumn life, when the grapes are ripe for harvest, when love has its last chance, when Dionysus has his festival, when the heat of summer is over and we are ready to reflect and realize what is really important before it's too late.

Isabelle feels this strongly and wants her friend to find happiness before another winter comes. But Magali, because of the vineyard, doesn't have much of an opportunity to meet men, although she allows that she would like to. She is at that delicate age when one can try again or shrug it off. Isabelle intervenes by going to a dating service and placing an ad. She meets Gerald (Alain Libolt) and they have lunch (she insists on lunch) two or three times and she evaluates him. He is modest, somewhat suave and amazingly diplomatic. They share a certain attraction.

Meanwhile, Rosine (Alexia Portal) who is dating Magali's son and who is very close to Magali, perhaps more so that she is to her son, also wants to find a mate for Magali. She proposes her philosophy professor, Etienne (Didier Sandre), who is in fact sweet on her. He is the kind of man who, as Magali observes, likes them younger as he grows older. But maybe she will be the exception. Maybe he will finally grow up. Both arrange for their choices to meet Magali at the wedding.

As usual Rohmer explores humanity and how we relate to one another, and finds both love and a kind of sweetness that is liable to bring us to tears. The resolution of the film is followed by a most endearing anticlimax in which there is a dance of joy.

Eric Rohmer's "Autumn's Tale" is one of those films that, even if you've watched it several times, you stop when you're flipping the channels on cable and watch it in parts or complete again and again. There is no plot to speak of and the characters seems to be floating on air or in this case floating on air in the Rhone Valley. These lives are lives observed and not dissected. Rohmer leaves it to the viewer to draw conclusions or not. The players include: Magali and her son and her son's girlfriend who used to sleep with her professor and Magali's friend who writes a personal ad to get Magali hooked up. In the telling it sounds silly. But in the viewing it isn't at all silly...just human and real and viewed with empathy on Rohmer's part. It's been a couple weeks since I've seen any part of this film..so I think I'll pop it in the player and enjoy it once again, open a bottle of Cote de Rhone and gnaw on a hunk of country bread and cheese.

Rohmer est un topographe, et en cela il se rapproche de Rousseau: "[Rohmer] désire la commucication et la transparence des coeurs mais il est frustré dans son attente et, choisissant la voie contraire, il accepte -et suscite- l'obstacle, qui lui permet de se replier dans la résignation passive et dans la certitude de son innocence" (J. Starobinski sur Rousseau). Et le grand Momo, qui de tous temps a aimé les petites filles, filme ici deux femmes, deux vieilles, qui ont échappées à leur jeunesse. Plus: la terre et l'espace détermine une certaine manière de filmer et de voir les êtres, sans aucun jugement de valeur, sans aucun moralisme. Ici: comment filmer deux femmes dans la chaleur et la lumière finissante du mois d'août, dans les vignes de la Drôme? Et pour moi qui connaît cette région, j'ai retrouvé dans "Conte d'Automne", ces bruits et ces odeurs, le gravier qui grince sous les voitures, la démarche des gens de là-bas, qui font le charme des Côtes-du-Rhône. Je ne peux que recommander ce film, qui rspecte absolument ses personnages, et qui redoute comme le pire le moindre sous-entendu, le moindre deuxième degré.

The product was exactly what I wanted -PAL-version since no US-version seems to be available. The seller contacted me to doublecheck that I knew it was PAL. It is a beautiful movie and I'm tickled to have found it here. Thanks!

. . . and I'm not even sure why that's so.

Let's see: It's set and shot in the vineyards of the Drome (on the boundary of northernmost Province). It's about a woman winemaker. It features Marie Riviere. It's by Rohmer.

Oh, yea, now I remember why I like it. On my Rohmer 1 to 5 scale, this gets a five.

This film almost made me like the French... almost. That's how good it is!

Letusbegin are as they say they are. The video is new and it arrived in 2 days. It was expensive, but worth it. However, there is an announcement "Property of... Not for sale..." that flashes on the screen six times during the running of the video that is annoying. However, this video was not available elsewhere and is better than being in a long queue for a well-worn library copy. Thanks for the quick turnaround time.