Reviews & Ratings for
Présentation ou Charlotte et son steak More at IMDbPro »

Purely enjoyable, 27 April 2011

Author: Rodrigo Amaro (rodrigo882008@hotmail.com) from São Paulo, Brazil

Eric Rohmer's short "Présentation ou Charlotte et son steak" (something like "Presentation or Charlotte and her steak") follows Walter, Charlotte and Clara on a ordinary day simply walking on a snowy place. Then, Walter takes Charlotte to her home, spends some time with her with one single purpose: to kiss her, telling he's in love with her but also provoking her by telling that he likes Clara best. Charlotte refuses giving him a kiss, and only offers a piece of her steak as lunch. In the meantime, they have some conversations about trivial things while he still tries to get a kiss from the girl.

Here's a unusual and forgettable short film whose major attractive is to see Jean-Luc Godard as an actor, and he's a good one. There's nothing so interesting about the story, although it's quite charming, a little bit funny but nothing memorable dignifying of a great director. It was filmed in 1951 with two actresses, who were later dubbed by another (and more famous!) actresses, Anna Karina and Stéphane Audran, so the only one who's really present is Godard.

It's well made, very nice, enjoyable, exclusively and purely that! 6/10

0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
See Jean-Luc Godard act...if you're into that sort of thing., 21 July 2011
Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

For fans of the French New Wave, this is a must-see film as you actually get to see a young Jean-Luc Godard acting! Unfortunately, it's only a 12 minute long film, however, so don't get your hopes set too high.

This is one of director Eric Rohmer's first films--a short that appears more like an experiment than a commercial product. And, as a New Wave film, it's allowed to defy typical conventions (like a plot). When the film begins, the narrator (Godard) explains what is happening and what has happened--as if he's explaining what had occurred on the first reel (as if it was lost). It's odd...but again, it's New Wave.

Much of the film consists of Godard and a lady standing around her apartment. She cooks for him, he wants to kiss and she just sits down to eat. Exciting stuff, huh? Well, no...it's not--it's exceptionally talky and dull. But it did help Rohmer and Godard to perfect their craft, so it's a film that their fans would adore--despite being very low energy. As I am not a huge fan of either, however, I found it all pretty mundane--like watching a student film would normally be or like watching paint dry.

As this is an experimental and non-commercial film, I am declining to give this one a numerical rating.

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