The French film L'amour, l'après-midi (1972) was shown in the U.S. with the translated title Love in the Afternoon. It was written and directed by Éric Rohmer.
This is the last of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, of which I've seen four. The ones that I've seen are La Collectioneuse (1967), My Night at Maud's (1969), Claire's Knee (1970) and this movie (1972).
All four of the films have the same basic theme. Men are tempted by beautiful women. What happens next?
Rohmer chose women actors who were very beautiful, but always beautiful in an interesting way: Haydée Politoff in La Collectioneuse, Laurence de Monaghan in Claire's Knee, and Francoise Fabien in My Night at Maud's. The desired woman in this movie is Zouzou, although the protagonist's wife is portrayed by Françoise Verley, who is also very attractive. (Also in an interesting way.)
Bernard Verley is Frédéric, a successful businessman who is married to Hélène, portrayed by Françoise Verley. (Bernard and Françoise were husband and wife.) Although Hélène is intelligent, loving, and beautiful, Frédéric walks the sidewalks of Paris thinking about what it would be like to be in bed with the beautiful women he sees on the street. Nothing actually happens--he just thinks about it.
Then something happens. Chloé (Zouzou) appears in Frédéric's office, and then in his life. She doesn't exactly throw herself at him. Instead, she plays him the way a skilled angler plays a fish. She pulls him in, and then she ignores him. We can all see where this is going. (In fact, the movie has sometimes been called Chloé in the Afternoon.)
I've brought this review through the beginning of the plot. You'll need to watch the movie to know what happens next.
As always, people in Rohmer's films talk, and talk, and then talk some more. This is what you can expect from Rohmer, and this is what you get in this film. If you're looking for action, this is the wrong movie for you. It's the right movie if you enjoy intelligent conversation on screen.
I don't think this film is as good as Claire's Knee, or My Night at Maud's. However, if you enjoy Rohmer and the French New Wave, it's worth watching. The movie has a very strong IMDb rating of 7.7. I didn't think it was quite that good, and rated it 7.
This is the last of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, of which I've seen four. The ones that I've seen are La Collectioneuse (1967), My Night at Maud's (1969), Claire's Knee (1970) and this movie (1972).
All four of the films have the same basic theme. Men are tempted by beautiful women. What happens next?
Rohmer chose women actors who were very beautiful, but always beautiful in an interesting way: Haydée Politoff in La Collectioneuse, Laurence de Monaghan in Claire's Knee, and Francoise Fabien in My Night at Maud's. The desired woman in this movie is Zouzou, although the protagonist's wife is portrayed by Françoise Verley, who is also very attractive. (Also in an interesting way.)
Bernard Verley is Frédéric, a successful businessman who is married to Hélène, portrayed by Françoise Verley. (Bernard and Françoise were husband and wife.) Although Hélène is intelligent, loving, and beautiful, Frédéric walks the sidewalks of Paris thinking about what it would be like to be in bed with the beautiful women he sees on the street. Nothing actually happens--he just thinks about it.
Then something happens. Chloé (Zouzou) appears in Frédéric's office, and then in his life. She doesn't exactly throw herself at him. Instead, she plays him the way a skilled angler plays a fish. She pulls him in, and then she ignores him. We can all see where this is going. (In fact, the movie has sometimes been called Chloé in the Afternoon.)
I've brought this review through the beginning of the plot. You'll need to watch the movie to know what happens next.
As always, people in Rohmer's films talk, and talk, and then talk some more. This is what you can expect from Rohmer, and this is what you get in this film. If you're looking for action, this is the wrong movie for you. It's the right movie if you enjoy intelligent conversation on screen.
I don't think this film is as good as Claire's Knee, or My Night at Maud's. However, if you enjoy Rohmer and the French New Wave, it's worth watching. The movie has a very strong IMDb rating of 7.7. I didn't think it was quite that good, and rated it 7.