The first of Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" collection is lovely, twenty-five minute short about a young man who must choose between the girl of his longing and another, more attainable girl. The young man in question narrates this short film. On his daily journeys, he encounters a beautiful girl named Sylvie on a regular basis. He begins to fall for her and even stalks her to a point. When he goes several days without seeing her, the young man in question begins to search for her. In his search, he encounters a small bakery. The young man begins a daily routine of entering the bakery for a cookie and the young girl who works there begins to develop feelings for him. Though the young man resists his own feelings at first, he finally decides to ask her out. Trouble results, though, when he runs into Sylvie on that very day.
The Girl at the Monceau Bakery, the first Rohmer film I'd seen, is pretty impressive. In its short (about twenty-five minute) running time, this film manages to weave a story with very believable conflict and quick resolution. This is a very simple film and does not pull any punches. The young narrator is a realistic character: he's a college student with girls on the brain. He isn't mature enough to realize that his own decisions affect others just as much as they affect him. The young man is rather selfish and the moral dilemma that he faces stems from that. The acting here is not bad, but far from first rate. It is, however, a good early achievement from Rohmer. Watching this, I am intrigued to dig deeper into his body of work.
9/10
