Boyfriends and Girlfriends

I love Rohmer's films. Even more those in the cycle Comedies and Proverbs. They're dissertations about love, friendship and the fine line between the two. In Rohmer's world, love and what leads to it is comparable to an algebraic formula: A is to C what B is to A. Again in this one, a lot of interesting dialog, in which every line incites us to reflect. Like this one: "Maybe it's because I didn't love her anymore that I went back with her". In fact, dialog and interaction between the characters are the only thing that matter in this movie. Everything else his not important. And as for characters, there is just a few, so you get to know them. You know what they want and how they react when they get it.

Out of 100, I gave it 76. That's good for **½ out of ****. Seen at home, in Toronto, on November 26th, 2004.

" I want to be loved for who I'm, not who I pretend to be " .

When we pick up an Eric Rhomer's film, we are pretty sure how it is gonna be in terms of narration. Having said that, this one depicts the relationship crisis, love and how feelings keeps changing over the time through the four leads who gave very convincing and natural performances. It is slow but grows on you towards the end and gonna put a smile on your face. I liked Blanche's character, which is relatable to introverts and the rest who can't express their inner feelings to a person whom they admire/love as we just get stuck/freeze while we try to strike a conversation with the person we adore and does some random stuff is definitely crazy yet devastating feeling at the same moment. Here the leads have their own take on relations , as they come in and get out of it due to ambiguity but eventually they get what they yearned. Conversations between Blanche and Fabien has more impact than the rest of the movie. A good flick, liked it !!!

This is an entertaining Rohmer movie, with some good ideas and interesting dialogue. However I couldn't believe how bad the actress in the lead role was. It even beats Arielle Dombasle's laughable performance in "Pauline à la plage". In "L'ami de mon amie", it's as if Emmanuelle Chaulet herself is clueless about the character, throughout the movie. Her name in the movie is Blanche, as in "oie blanche" in French, which means a girl or young woman with a prudish upbringing who is candid and a bit foolish.

Unfortunately, in all her scenes Emmanuelle Chaulet is fidgetting, wincing, twiddling her hair or shaking her head any moment, and for no reason. She has no sense of timing or delivery, her body language is either inappropriate, or over the top. In one scene at the café, she can't even utter one, simple line such as "les affaires cult...culturelles" (her job department), without stuttering. Then she giggles like a schoolgirl, when she's supposed to be a serious, grown civil servant. She can't even kiss a (good-looking) partner: her intimate scene in the woods with Éric Viellard is cringe worthy. Utter amateurism. I don't know what went through Rohmer's head, maybe he was having a laugh, maybe he didn't have a choice. Anyway it's no wonder why her career as an actress failed to take off after that. She didn't even have the appeal of prior Rohmer heroines such as those played by Haydée Politoff, Françoise Fabian or Amanda Langlet, for instance. By contrast with her, Sophie Renoir (Léa), Eric Viellard (Fabien) and F-E Gendron (Alexandre) raise the level by giving a much more watchable and relaxed performance.

I like Rohmer's playing with color symmetry and permutation in the actors' outfits, like the blue top/white skirt matching Léa's white top/blue skirt at the evening party, to emphasise the contrasting traits and moods of the characters. The conclusion, a sensible outcome, is satisfying both for the characters and the viewer.

A young woman, Blanche (the lovely Emmanuelle Chaulet), works in the City Hall of a trendy New Town near Paris (somewhat to his discredit, Rohmer's films always occurs in middle class and upper middle class milieus, never in working class neighborhoods or in the immigrants building projects). Having recently arrived there, Blanche lives quite a lonely life, until she becomes friends with another young woman, Lea (Sophie Renoir), through which she met her boyfriend Fabien (Eric Viellard), and an acquaintance of the couple, Alexandre (François-Eric Gendron). Basically, the movie follows the time honored plot of exchange of relationships. A is with B, and C with D, but then A will start a liaison with D, which will make C jealous, and would start going with B in revenge and so forth. The title in French is a pun: the boyfriend of my friend would (could) become my boyfriend. Rohmer is known to be a political conservative, but here he is hardly a moralist, since he examines the sexual freedom of today's youth without condemning it. The movie is slow and talky, but these characters are believable and appealing (if somewhat shallow and a bit better looking than ordinary).

This film is among the best of Rohmer's films. Why ? Because he observes our little snobberies, our small little lies, and in his detached way he loves humanity for them. It is set in Cergy which back in 1987 was a sort of new ' paradise ' just outside of Paris. Two young women who work and study there become friends, and one has a boyfriend and the other does not. There is a fourth in this, a supposed perfect young man who can seduce anyone. The four become entangled in a dance of love, both in retreat and in advance, and light though the subject maybe it has a profound knowledge of our illusions, and our ability of changing lovers that very often hurts no one. And the wonder of the scenario is that like the titles of two Shakespeare plays,' Much Ado About Nothing ' becomes ' All's Well That Ends Well. ' Those who accuse it as being superficial should realise that the surface is deceptive, and that obvious depths are often even more superficial, often becoming self dramatics (on the part of the directors) and the situations he or she creates, or simply portrays, to often imposed melodramatic formulas. Rohmer watches and catches the glance and the gesture that rings true and many do not have this gift. All four, Sophie Renoir, Emmanuelle Chaulet, Francois-Eric Gendron, and Eric Viellard are superb, especially Chaulet and Viellard, who have a chemistry together which is a joy to see. If the sceptics try to convince that Rohmer is shallow just remember that one of the masters of so-called extreme cinema, Quentin Tarantino, loves Rohmer's films. If I had to watch only one director it would be Rohmer. I0 of his best films on a desert island would be my ultimate choice.