The Green Ray (Summer) (1986)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Green Ray (Summer) (1986) – E. Rohmer

Eric Rohmer’s films are unique.  We observe French people talking about their lives and loves.  Often they are confused about what to do.  Here, he presents a sort of character study of Delphine (Marie Riviere, who apparently improvised enough of her part to warrant a screenwriting credit), a woman who is indecisive, even avoidant, when it comes to meeting men and starting a relationship.  She is principled and wants things on her own terms but she is desperately lonely as a result and prone to crying.  Yet the film is light-hearted and depicts Delphine’s attempts to have a holiday (first in Cherbourg, then the Alps, then Biarritz).  We meet other women who do not seem to have her problems, easily meeting men, or accepting them because of lower standards.  The title invokes a proverb suggesting that when one witnesses the last green ray of the sunset (described by a group of older people Delphine eavesdrops on), then one will gain insight into one’s own heart/purpose and that of others.  The film is the fifth in Rohmer’s Comedies and Proverbs series.  Don’t come looking for plot but instead be prepared for a wistful even frivolous look at those early days when life hadn’t yet settled. Charmant.