The Aviator's Wife (1981) La femme de l'aviateur (original title)

Director:

Eric Rohmer

Writer:

Eric Rohmer

Release Date:

4 March 1981 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A young student is devastated when he finds that his girlfriend is cheating on him. In order to find out why she did it, he decides to spy on her and her lover.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Obsession | Jealousy | Schoolgirl | Aviator

Cast

Philippe Marlaud	...	François
Marie Rivière	...	Anne
Anne-Laure Meury	...	Lucie
Mathieu Carrière	...	Christian
Philippe Caroit	...	François' Friend
Coralie Clément	...	Anne's Colleague
María Luisa García	...	Anne's Friend (as Lisa Hérédia)
Haydée Caillot	...	Blonde
Mary Stephen	...	Tourist
Neil Chan	...	Tourist
Rosette	...	Concierge
Fabrice Luchini	...	Mercillat

Directed by
Eric Rohmer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Eric Rohmer

Produced by
Margaret Ménégoz	....	producer

Cinematography by
Bernard Lutic

Film Editing by
Cécile Decugis

Production Management
Hervé Grandsart	....	unit manager

Sound Department
Dominique Hennequin	....	sound mixer
Gérard Lecas	....	boom operator
Georges Prat	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Romain Winding	....	camera operator

Production Companies

• Les Films du Losange

Distributors

• Les Films du Losange (1981) (worldwide) (all media) (rights)
• Gaumont (1981) (France) (theatrical)
• Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Home Video (GCTHV) (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2007) (Brazil) (DVD) (Portuguese and French subtitles)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (DVD)
• Kinokuniya (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (1981) (USA) (subtitled)

Other Companies

• L.T.C.  laboratory
• S.I.S.  auditorium

Also Known As:

"La femme de l'aviateur" - France (original title)

Runtime:

Argentina:108 min | Greece:106 min | USA:104 min | France:104 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 (Qualidade) | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Buttes Chaumont, Paris 19, Paris, France

Company:

Les Films du Losange

Trivia:

The first of Eric Rohmer's six-part "Comedies et Proverbes" series.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Francois put a stamp on the postcard he wants to mail to Lucie, the writing on the card is different than the one he wrote previously. The words are the same but on different or more lines.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Woman Next Door (1981)

Soundtrack:

Paris m'a séduit

Strong debut for Comedies and Proverbs

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.