Autumn Tale

It is autumn in the Rhone valley and grapes are being harvested. Magali (Beatrice Romand), the owner of a small vineyard inherited from her parents, lives alone and attends to her vineyard with the same care she gives to her frizzy black hair. She tells her best friend Isabelle (Marie Riviére), a librarian, that she has no interest in meeting men. "At my age," she says, "it's easier to find buried treasure." Isabelle, however, has her own ideas on the subject and takes out an ad in the local paper to find a suitable partner for her friend. Winner of won the award for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival, Eric Rohmer's An Autumn Tale, the final film in his Four Seasons series, is about matchmaking but this time it is about the need for companionship of older women with grown children.

Like many Rohmer films, a complex web of events and relationships arise from seemingly simple acts of friendship. Isabelle meets Gérald (Alain Libolt), a courteous and laid back salesman through her ad and goes to lunch with him a few times enjoying the idea that she can be still be seductive. After toying with the notion of keeping him for herself, she finally confesses that she is happily married and the whole seduction routine was simply a ploy to introduce him to her best friend Magali. The situation becomes further complicated by the desires of Rosine (Alexia Portal), her son Leo's (Stephane Damon) girlfriend, to set her up with her ex boyfriend Etienne (Diedier Sandre) a philosophy teacher with a penchant for younger women.

Unaware of the others matchmaking efforts, in a true Shakespearean twist, both Gerard and Etienne are invited to the wedding reception for Isabelle's daughter Emilia (Arelia Alcais) and the way it works itself out is delightful to observe. None of this of course unfolds according to plan but the beauty of the film is not the plot but the gradual development of complex three-dimensional characters through typically Rohmerian intelligent and witty dialogue. An Autumn Tale, though it contains some fanciful romantic intrigue, unfolds in a spirit of playful adventure, without guile or mean-spiritedness. Like the conclusion of Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man, we smile for no reason and Rohmer leaves us with a dance of joy and a final song: "If life is a journey, we hope your weather's fair, wild flowers are green and blue, travel safely, all of you".

"Autumn Tale" is one of those movies where the viewer is asked to eavesdrop on normal people doing normal things. Europeans, notably the French, seem to do it best. It's a tricky approach to movie making; the margins for success are so narrow. Luckily, Mr. Rohmer, the director, is spot-on in this movie. The plot is a trifle; Isabelle and Magali are middle-aged women and livelong friends. Both are content with their families and careers. But Isabelle thinks that the widowed Magali needs a man, as does Magali's son's girlfriend. Independently, and unknowing to Magali and to each other, they conspire to set her up with a romantic interest. That's it. Mr. Rohmer, his screenwriter, and the top-notch actors brew up an enjoyable movie that's a treat to watch. I recommend it highly.

I was working on my computer with the tv nearby, and I happened upon a French film on cable. I didn't think I was particularly in the mood to read subtitles, but as I glanced at the screen, bits of the story began to pull me in. Before I knew it, over an hour and a half had passed.

I wasn't familiar with any of the actors, which probably made the story of two very good friends and their loved ones even more compelling to me. Now I'd be interested in seeing anything else featuring Marie Rivière or Béatrice Romand. Rivière was engaging as a vulnerable yet capable business woman, and Romand had a quiet and powerful energy as a widow who seems to have retreated into the "safety" of working on her vineyard.

Romand made me laugh at times with her moments of "attitude" and temper, and Rivière kept me guessing what was coming next. The story unfolded nicely. I found myself on the edge of my seat much of the time. The story is somewhat of a cautionary tale in some ways, yet very realistic in terms of human nature and relationships.

There were some actions and situations I found to be less than appropriate, but in some ways the screenwriter seems to possibly have the same view...

This movie is a must-see for people interested in the politics of dating, match-making, romance, and friendship.

This was a little film with a simple plot and likable characters. In fact, Hollywood would learn a lot from films like this. It's not the dynamic plot, special effects or big name stars that often make a film exceptional, it's the writing and the acting! And this movie is written so lovingly and acted so honestly that I couldn't help but like it. This, despite the notable absence of the sensational elements in the movie, made for a wonderful film. Think about it--the basic plot is an older woman who owns her own small winery is lonely. So, her friend tries to find a man for her and so does her grown child. Talk about your simple plot! And yet it works! So if you are in the mood for something different, give this movie a try.

Lovely, like all of Rohmer's seasonal films. I discovered them very recently, but I was living in France around this time and I think this film is such a fantastic representation of the end of the '90s in rural France, and it hasn't changed a lot as I still go back to the vineyard region, and this captures the whole spirit and the kind of people you meet there beautifully. I always think Rohmer's films feel extremely real, all the people in them are very authentic and I like the way that, as usual, he explores the places in between the very stark relationships portrayed by Hollywood. If anybody has ever captured real France, then it's in this film. And it's so refreshing to just enjoy a film that feels like a very natural vignette, I wouldn't have minded even less of a romantic plot, it's just nice to be with these characters for a few afternoons and evenings in the middle of nowhere.