“Some things are better left unsaid.”

In the French film, Boyfriends and Girlfriends Blanche works for the Cultural Affairs office in a small urban town. She’s 24 years old and single. One lunchtime, she meets Lea, a student, who lives with her boyfriend, Fabien. Lea and Blanche–although opposites in many ways, strike up a relationship, and soon they are the very best of friends. Blanche even begins giving Lea swimming lessons. One day, at the local swimming pool, Blanche spots Alexandre, and she’s immediately smitten. Apparently, most of the women who come in contact with Alexandre are similarly smitten. He’s a notorious ladies’ man, but he’s also known for his poor taste in women.

Lea immediately begins encouraging Blanche’s interest in Alexandre, but at the same time, Lea emphasizes that he’s not really Blanche’s type. In fact, the more Lea talks about Alexandre, it seems likely that he’s more Lea’s type–at least she seems to feel the challenge of a relationship with him. Lea is also blatantly dissatisfied with Fabien, and she notes that with Fabien, “all my little games fall flat.” Lea is just marking time before they break up.

Rohmer delightfully dissects the difficulties involved in both beginning and ending romantic relationships. The delicate progress of courtship is recorded before the characters even seem to be aware of the new relationships they find themselves in. The uncertainty surrounding Blanche’s hopeful and desperate interest in the rather caddish Alexandre is touching. The characters–as always in Rohmer films–create all the interest. As a director, he enters the minds of his characters and studies their motivations through their conversations and their actions.

Blanche is sweet, pert and rather easy-going. Lea is much more elegant, complicated, and harder to please. Alexandre is very much at ease in his elegant skin. He’s confident and suave–the complete opposite of the much more sincere Fabien. The film gravitates around the idea that opposites do indeed attract–and knowing one’s ‘type’, does not necessarily lead to making better choices.

Boyfriends and Girlfriends is one of Eric Rohmer’s Comedies and Proverbs series, and this series tends to be a little fluffier than many of Rohmer’s other films. Rohmer’s Moral Tales Series, for example, includes more substantial and philosophical films which deal with weightier subject matter. The Comedies and Proverbs are lighter–less serious fare and the other five films in this series are: The Aviator’s Wife, Full Moon In Paris, Le Beau Mariage, Pauline at the Beach, and Summer. Rohmer films are always full of conversations–there is rarely action here–and most of his films seem to mention, at the very least, holidays. The characters in this film find that their romantic lives are somewhat influenced by holidays. People seem to either love or loathe Rohmer films–the most critical find the films boring and pretentious–I, however, return many times to my Rohmer collection, and I am fascinated by the characters and the relationships they form.

“I’m not accepting any favours from the Bolsheviks.”

Loosely based on a true story, director Eric Rohmer’s film Triple Agent cleverly examines the complicated politics of the turbulent years 1936-37 through an unsolved mystery involving espionage. Fyodor Voronin (Serge Renko) is a White Russian who’s part of the emigre community living in Paris in the 30s. He’s a former White general, and he works for the Russian Army Veteran’s Association. While ostensibly he works to assist the former soldiers, part of his job is to prevent soviet agent infiltration. The emigre community is still reeling from the bold 1930 kidnapping of White Russian General Kutyepov. Fyodor’s wife of 12 years, Arsinoe (Katerina Didaskalu) is an artist who has little interest in her husband’s politics. They appear to have a loving marriage–although Fyodor leaves for long periods of time.

This is a dangerous time when even the seemingly simplest conversation can reveal shifting political alliances. Seasoned director, Eric Rohmer blends footage of the time with the action of his characters. Against the backdrop of the rise of the Popular Front, and the election of France’s first Socialist Prime Minister, Leon Blum, Arsinoe makes friends with the communist neighbours who live upstairs, and Fyodor isn’t thrilled about this. Arsinoe, as usual, laughs off her husband’s worries, but gradually, she begins to suspect that he’s tangled in a web of international intrigue. Fyodor seems to be remarkably well informed, and this gains him a great deal of respect in many quarters. While he admits he “pulls strings” he refuses to explain just how he gains some of his information.

The Spanish Revolution begins, and with the shifting unrest, Fyodor’s involvement in espionage appears to increase. His confidences to Arsinoe become bolder, and he’s giddy with his own sense of power. To him, espionage is “just a game of chess.” He even anticipates Stalin’s devious involvement with Spain and argues that “Spain is a training ground where you size up your opponents, and you don’t care who wins.” Then news of Stalin’s purges spreads to the emigre community, and soon it’s no longer clear just who Fyodor works for ….

It’s best to come to this film with a sense of the political backdrop of the period as the film covers a vast range of political ideas here–decossackification, the Russian Revolution, Stalin’s purges, Stalin’s meddling in the Spanish Revolution, the Popular Front, Leon Blum, and the rise of the Nazi party. Like all Rohmer films, the action is driven by character and dialogue, and if you’re already a Rohmer fan, you won’t be disappointed in this intriguing film. Special mention here for a great performance from actress Katerina Didaskalu who plays Arsinoe–a woman who is forced into a painful confrontation between love, loyalty and morality.

The DVD includes a documentary that examines the real-life unsolved mystery of General Miller and Nikolai Skoblin. A French historian does a marvelous job of placing the mystery in the context of its time, while the niece of Skoblin argues for her uncle’s innocence–fascinating stuff. In French, Greek, German, and Russian with English subtitles.

“I’m not normal, like you.”

Summer  (Le Rayon Vert) from French director Eric Rohmer’s Comedies and Proverbs series is basically a ‘boy meets girl story’. The plot is centered on Delphine (Marie Riviere), a Parisian woman who finds herself alone for her annual holiday. Delphine attempts to salvage her holiday by solitary sorties to several locations. In Biarritz, she meets a Swedish woman whose confidence and predatory behavior serves only to undermine Delphine’s confidence even further.

Summer is a character study of a single woman’s voyage through urban loneliness, and in true Rohmer tradition, the action is dialogue driven. Many of Rohmer’s films include some reference to the Parisian annual holiday, but in this film, the plot never strays from the idea of the annual exodus from Paris. Herein lies Delphine’s dilemma–she doesn’t want to be alone, but she doesn’t exactly glow when she’s around other people. When surrounded by others who attempt to make Delphine feel comfortable, her behaviour alienates them and ultimately isolates her. She’s idealistic, and that makes her interesting, and she clearly doesn’t fit in with the more social groups she constantly mingles with. However, Delphine’s tendency to whininess and constant crying detracts from the film. Rohmer films often concern an admirable character who is troubled in some way. In Summer, Delphine as a central character is too weak to bolster the entire film. There are psychological depths to her behaviour that are unexplored, and the film remains less substantial than many other Rohmer films.