Nadja in Paris (1964)

Nadja is a guest student, who stays at Cité Universitaire and visits the Sorbonne, while preparing a thesis on Proust. Besides her student life she likes to stroll about Paris, to explore ... See full summary »

Director:

Éric Rohmer

Writer:

Nadja Tesich (text)

Star:

Nadja Tesich

Cast

Cast overview:
Nadja Tesich	...	Self

Storyline

Nadja is a guest student, who stays at Cité Universitaire and visits the Sorbonne, while preparing a thesis on Proust. Besides her student life she likes to stroll about Paris, to explore the variety of this wide and open city. She knows Saint-Germain-des-Prés well, but feels more comfortable among the bohemians, painters and writers in Montparnasse. Sometimes she wants to get out of the narrow area of intellectual Paris. She then goes to the park Buttes Chaumont and the working class neighborhood of Belleville. There she discovers a world that is simpler and more characteristic of France. This helps her to distance herself from everything that was superficial in her life. She thinks that Paris teaches you more about yourself than you learn about the city.

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Plot Keywords:

nouvelle vague | french new wave | 

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Genres:

Short

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Did You Know?

Connections

References The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960)

User Reviews

Only for Rohmer-philes.

Before he began making cinematic films, French New Wave director Eric Rohmer made some films on the cheap. To put it bluntly, they look a lot like home movies or a film posted on YouTube (if they had it back in the 1960s). I assume he used an 8mm hand-held camera.

"Nadja à Paris" is included on the Criterion disc for "Suzanne's Career"--another short Rohmer film from the mid-60s. Like "Suzanne's Career", the film has a LOT of narration by the main character but unlike "Suzanne's Career", the film doesn't even have dialog. It consists of a young co-ed talking to the camera as you see her go about her life--which, oddly, never seems to show her attending classes. Instead, she roams about Paris while she narrates. Much of the action seems pretty random--like Rohmer had no real idea what he was going to do with the film while he was taking it. This randomness and lack of traditional structure is VERY New Wave--the sort of stuff critics at the time (particularly Rohmer's buddies like Godard and Truffaut) adored but which bored the life out of the average person. My feeling is that this is only for extreme lovers of the New Wave and Rohmer fans. It's a decent way to see the progression of Rohmer's craft but is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

Because this is an experimental film, I am not going to give it a numerical score. It just defies conventional scoring and standards.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

1964 (France)

Also Known As:

Nadja in Paris

Filming Locations:

Belleville, Paris 19, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Losange

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1