Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle

I read in a short critique of Rohmer recently the perfect sentence to describe his work and how to approach it: "It is when we let Rohmer's irony (the incongruence of his characters) be a seed of self-reflection within ourselves that his films take on a transcendent dimension." The transcendent dimension that all great works of art have is there but you have to let the irony become a seed of self-reflection first, you have to actively participate, hence the reason why many people find Rohmer's films boring. They don't even realize what they're missing and don't want to know! The closer a Rohmer film is to soap opera on the surface and the less offbeat it is the more money it makes (the recent "Autumn's Tale" made a very impressive 2 million dollars on the art-house circuit but I, for one, thought it was just o.k.), but ALL of them have depth if you look for it.

Rohmer's films slowly and quietly build into elaborate structures of subtly hilarious sophistication which get better with each viewing (letting the irony really take root and become a seed of self-reflection). They are all (on the surface at least) very similar: done low-budget but with quietly superb and magnificent cinematography, maximum conversation, minimum hi-jinks or action, relying on subtlety and the viewer's undivided attention and engagement to reveal their deep humor and depth. All of Rohmer's films make fun of human folly and vanity in a way that's entirely unprecedented, true-to-life, and unique in the cinema. Critics have labeled the term 'classicist' on his head but I don't know of any filmmakers or artists, outside of some of the great satirical novelists of the 19th century, who have approached their subject in this way. There is an incredible amount of pure cinema in Rohmer but done in a way that's completely invisible when the viewer's not seeking it out, absolutely devoid of any tendencies to show-off and draw attention to itself.

"Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle" is about two young girls, one a surrealistic-painter from the country, the other-- a law-student from Paris , both very pretty and charming, who strike up a friendship and go through a few neurotic and enlightening incidents together both in the city and the country: trying to wake up at the moment of absolute silence every morning when night-birds stop chirping and morning birds are still asleep; dealing with a rude Paris cafe waiter; dealing with pan-handlers trying to hustle them for change; moral dilemmas about shoplifting; selling Reinette's painting without her having to speak one word to the gallery owner because she's sticking to a vow of silence she made the day before; etc. The Very Funny and valuable results are captured by Rohmer in his trademark, meditative, and un-intrusive style. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Reinette's antics are meant to irritate, and Mirabelle is why you keep watching. This dynamic of contrasting characters (the 'neurotic' complimented by 'the cooler friend'), often appears in Rohmer films: there's melodramatic Blanche and likeable Léa in L'Ami de mon amie; childish Magali and demure Isabelle in Conte d'automne; and unbearable Sabine and beautiful Clarisse in Le Beau Mariage.

The grocery store scene in Four Adventures stands out as the highlight of the film to me. Rohmer took us through the most interesting scene in what felt like real-time, and then, in the very next scene, allowed Mirabelle to describe the event to Reinette. Was she going to exaggerate or tell the truth?! I thought that was a brilliant little moment, where we were able to be voyeurs not once, but twice.

Overall, this little gem about an unlikely friendship puts you exactly where you want to be: living in Rohmer's France for 1 hour and 39 minutes. My only complaint is: I wished Rohmer had worked with Jessica Forde (the actress who plays Mirabelle) in more of his films. She was a natural; one of my favorite Rohmerettes.

Reinette and Mirabelle are two young women. Reinette lives in the countryside, Mirabelle in Paris. They meet during a holiday of Mirabelle in the country, when Reinette helps her to repair the tube of her bicycle and shows her the beauties of nature and in particular the 'blue hour'.

This is the classic meeting of the "city mouse" and the "country mouse". While the country mouse knows such things as how to cook and fix bicycles, she does not concern herself with such high-minded concepts as "ethnology". In her domain, she is the queen.

But we also see stories here where it pays to be a smart city mouse... through deception and cunning, you can get what you want in ways the innocent, sincere person never can. The interactions with both the waiter and the art dealer are just so good and really make this film a treasure.

4 aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle (1987) was written and directed by Éric Rohmer. Rohmer had some down time while directing the film Le Rayon vert, and used that time to make this interesting movie.

Joëlle Miquel plays Reinette, who is spending the summer in an isolated cottage near her rural home . Jessica Forde portrays Mirabelle, a Parisian who is vacationing in the area for the summer. The two women become friends. In the Fall, they share an apartment in Paris, where Reinette attends art school, and Mirabelle attends the Sorbonne.

Rohmer has divided the movie into four parts. The first part is when the two women meet. The other three parts are incidents that occur to one or both of them.

As in all of Rohmer's films, dialog is the very important. The women talk and argue throughout the film. Unlike many of Rohmer's films, things happen to them and those things are the basis of their discussions. (Usually, his characters just talk about relationships.)

The events include encounters with a shoplifter, a rude waiter, homeless people, and the owner of an art gallery.

The film is colorful, interesting, and easy to watch. It's not a masterpiece, but it's worth finding and watching. 4 aventures has a solid IMDb rating of 7.5. I thought it was even better then that, and rated it 9.

The more Rohmer I see, the greater my appreciation and love grows for him. Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle is a wonderful film about a Parisian girl and a girl from the country who meet, become friends, and then move in together in an apartment in Paris. The film consists of little more than the two girls living their lives, sharing their philosophies, and acting on those philosophies. The two lead performances, by Joelle Miquel (Reinette) and Jessica Forde (Mirabelle) are outstanding. And then there are a lot of colorful - but not too colorful - side characters in the four tales, like the extraordinarily rude waiter (Philippe Laudenbach) and the art dealer (Fabrice Luchini, the star of my favorite Rohmer film, the incomparably unique Perceval le gallois). This is a film for people who love people, their thoughts, and their talk. 10/10.