The Aviator's Wife

A gem. I don't usually like Rohmer's films, but this one is wonderful, even though some may feel the plot is extremely slight. But the texture, the wonderful actors, the capture of the small details of life made this an unforgettable movie.

It's always fun watching Rohmer's heroes and heroins develop their characters in a 90-min of story-telling.

The aviator Christian shows up talking for 5 minutes in the beginning, and then he turns to just a subject that we all audience, including François, have to know him from how Anne will describe him and how Lucie will envision him.

The audience can only see aviator's wife once from a photo Anne posses, but till we see it, including François, we learn all of our assumption made from Lucie's smart guessing will need to be re-assumed otherwise.

The last five minutes of the movie indicates François will get himself to be going after Lucie, for he is made believe Lucie may not seem as straightforward as he felt. His role somehow imitates to Christian now.

So much fun with so minimal resources of moving making. Solute Eric.

It's hard to explain what exactly is so appealing about the films of Eric Rohmer. A plot summary of any of his films would surely make it sound like a dull affair or possibly even a soapy melodrama. Rohmer's films aren't about plot, however, one might even say they defy plot. Instead of focusing on conventional narrative, Rohmer concentrates on his characters. This is not to say that Rohmer chooses to show extraordinary individuals; the strength of his characters is actually in their ordinariness. His characters seem like people I really know or at the very least like people I might encounter. These characters aren't dumbed down or simplified to be more universal, either; each seems like a uniquely realized person.

The Aviator's Wife is about Francois, a Parisian college student/mail sorter and his relationships with his older girlfriend Anne (who he suspects is cheating on him) and Lucie,a younger girl who picks him up in the park. Throughout the film we come to know both the flaws and strengths of these three characters, each of whom is curious (albeit for very different reasons) about a certain aviator and his wife. Francois is naive and clingy but very kind natured, Anne is strong but cruel, and Lucie is cheery and intelligent but also dishonest and coquettish.

The Aviator's Wife is the first of Rohmer's six "Comedies and Proverbs" films. The proverb this time around is: "It is impossible to think about nothing." Within the context of the film this seems to refer to the inability of some of the characters to understand the significance (or lack of significance) of the things they hear. This theme works well enough but the film as a whole fails to be as captivating or as interesting as the previous Rohmer films I've seen (those being Pauline at the Beach and The Green Ray). This is especially apparent in the bedroom scene near the end of the film which goes on too long. Still, the comical ending was a fun surprise.

The "proverb" of this film doesn't get consummated till the very end when we come to know that our philosopher hero, Francois, is arrested by his insecurities, suspicions, restlessness and LOVE. His mind always chooses the path of alienation which shapes the lonely tragedy of his love. Likewise, Anne's style of love is dictated by her own personality and Lucie's lure is by hers. It's a good Rohmerian character study!

The haunting song, ' Paris m'a seduit ' leads the viewer into the film and out of it, and it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. We meet a young man played by Philippe Marlaud ( a tender performance sadly to be his last ) and from there in the duration of one day we meet brief acquaintances, who pass by and a woman he elusively loves. I saw it as a whole life with its morning, its day and its night. And the background is Paris; city of strangers, city of hope and pain and above all a city which seduces with promises rarely fulfilled. But Rohmer clearly passionately loves Paris and his camera magically probes what it is able to perceive and finally the crowd of the city engulfs the characters, and gently the camera withdraws. Marie Riviere clearly one of Rohmer's favourite actors is the woman loved, and her presence epitomises the changing mood of the city from laughter to tears, and what a great actor she is. Her long scene during the night of the day with Philippe Marlaud is superb and one of Rohmer's greatest. A film to watch again and again and each time there is an image that seduces. Like a favourite artist I always return to Rohmer's visions of existence and as Paris seduces so does he. Was he France's finest director ? I believe he was and in this new era we are in he should be returned to like a long lost friend forever enchanting us with a world that was once our neighbour.