Vollmondnächte

Eric Rohmer is one of my favorite directors because he captures human drama without being dramatic at all. The characters talks, explains their emotions, tries to make themselves understood by others, but there is a constant misunderstanding that cannot be explained. There is a vague feeling of despair and the futility of communication in general. When I first saw Eric Rohmer's film it reminded me of one of those TV shows that tries to portray a normal day-to-day life to teach foreign language. I feel Eric Rohmer's specialty is in this focus on language and communication, not to portray a specific story, but to portray communication and thus leads us to a story "out side" of the communication.

Sure, other artists, countless others, have spent their lives depicting the interrelationships of men and women. But I don't know of anyone who so consistently seems to understand human relationships than Eric Rohmer. So few can build as believable characters, such believable situations. Full Moon in Paris concerns a young woman, Louise (Pascale Ogier), who has arrived at a point of extreme confusion: she loves her long-time boyfriend, Rémi (Tchéky Karyo), but she desperately wants to be alone for once in her life. Rémi likes his life the way he has it, living in the suburbs, doing his job, coming home to Louise. But it's all too stifling for her. She rents an apartment in Paris, but that only partly steadies her mind. Louise also has another, more ambiguous boyfriend, Octave (Fabrice Luchini, who appears in several Rohmer films and stars in my very favorite, Perceval le Gallois). Their relationship is definitely on the romantic side, but both seem to be in it, at least most of the time, for each other's company. They can talk, where Rémi isn't an especially gifted conversationalist (not a good character trait if you're in a Rohmer film!). The film moves along as well as any Rohmer film, but for a long time I was pretty sure that Rohmer wouldn't be able to end it in any significant way, that it would end up being a great film (like I say, I couldn't find one of his films any less), but not one of his best. Fortunately, Rohmer really does find the perfect ending, which ends up lifting the film up and making it one of the director's best. The film really benefits from its perfectly written characters and amazing acting, as well. Ogier gives one of the strongest central performances in Rohmer's canon. Fabrice Luchini, man, I love this actor! He stars in my favorite Rohmer film and has a small roll in my second favorite (the vastly underrated 4 Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle from 1987). Luchini is so perfect here, so subtly hilarious that most will not notice it. During one of Octave's many conversations with Louise, he rattles off a really good line and has to stop to write it down. Louise understandingly excuses herself to the restroom to give him time to get his quip recorded. 9/10.

One of the things Rohmer does which I have not seen with any other director is to take a location, seemingly dull, far from beautiful and somehow he renders it of utmost important to his story. In 'La femme d'aviateur' it's the interiors of Paris apartments and a moderate park in Paris called Le Parc de Buttes Chaumont. In 'Pauline a la plage' and 'Le Rayon Vert' there is an emphasis on the changes in people when you take them out of their daily routine and normal environment, specifically when they are on vacation, a very important part of French life.

In this film 'Les nuits de la pleine lune' (Full Moon in Paris) and L'ami de mon amie', he films relatively new suburbs of Paris with new ideas on architecture, new ideas on living and with young successful people. Most directors would never bother to even visit these grotesque modern suburbs, let alone film a film there. However it works with this film and L'ami de mon amie'. Why I don't know, but we know that it is a crucial element to the emotional journey of the main character in this film - her displacement between Paris and the suburbs. She prefers the chaos of Paris to the straight lines and cubism of her suburban apartment.

I thought Pascale Ogier was fantastic as the lead in this film. I think Rohmer has a fantastic knack for choosing lead woman, with only one exception in my mind to this rule. They are usually petite, fragile, mystically beautiful.....What I thought of when watching Pascale Ogier as Louise was a cat. Her slinky movements, her lazy eyes, her calmness, her desire for space - not your average women. I read just one year after making the film she died of a heart attack at the age of 26.

All in all an average or above average Rohmer film (which it not a bad thing). It sweeps over you with it's subtle charms and before you know it you will be under the film's spell.

"Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune" is by far one of the best movies I have seen. Rohmer manages to capture the full complexity of a relationship that is on the rocks. Fabrice Lucini as Octave is very believable, even during his pensive rants in front of the camera for an extended period of time. Pascale Ogier as Louise gives a very good performance, showing us how a woman like Louise acts when caught in the middle of trying to decide between two men and resisting another. She is sometimes seducing, sometimes a devoted girlfriend, and sometimes just acts like she wants to run away from it all. Tchéky Karyo is perfect in his ability to show Remi's awkwardness in social situations. Overall, an excellent movie.

--Céline. Contact me at Niancul@aol.com

"But Louise cannot have her cake and eat it too, she is over-confident in rationalizing her and Remi's situation, openly suggesting that their relationship can be terminated if they find someone else whom they love more, only to be hoisted by her own petard, after finally bringing a random guy to her pied-à-terre, Louise has a rude awakening on this night of full moon, that she has finally gotten over with meaningless sex, and it is Remy, their home in the banlieue beckon her, however, Rohmer makes it clear that it is not just she who has the say-so in this precarious relationship, but at the very least, she has some place to return to when her entire world crumbles down."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks