La collectionneuse

La Collectionneuse is a fine example how consistent Eric Rohmer was throughout his Moral Tales series. The story isn't important here, its the intensity of each scene and the tension among the characters till the last scene. Subtle jump cuts in the storyline can make you pause & arrive at your own hypotheses about how the characters are feeling in the following scenes. This is a visual treat - whether its the sights & sounds of the reviera house where most of the movie takes place, or the shots of beach or Haydee Politoff's delicious lips. You never begin to hate or love any character at any point - but they stay on your mind long after the movie is over. The characters, adrian, haydee & daniel exude human rawness - none are perfect or simplistic. As a viewer, I could not take anyone's side. They all seek power in their own ways, while exposing their sensitivies equally. Its a curious caricature of the complexities around love and life. Rohmer uses symbols like antiques to express how the relationships are built and broken. I could watch it again & again. A delightful Rohmer classic - its poetic, with a pacing that works as a meditation of sorts.

The first feature length moral tale, La Collectionneuse is easily better than its predecessors. Offering a realistic look into the lives of three young people and narrated perfectly by one, La Collectionneuse is a beautiful film. This is Eric Rohmer's first color feature and it is absolutely magnificent to look at. There are several gorgeous beach scenes. The cinematography all around is just glorious. Aside from that, the acting is wonderful. There is so much chemistry between the main characters that it electrifies the film. It also provides a realistic tale of the struggle to keep morality. Translated as "The Collector" in English, La Collectionneuse is an overlooked, underrated film that should be considered a classic.

The story begins with three prologues. The first, Haydee's prologue, simply shows the girl on the beach in a skimpy bikini. The second prologue introduces the viewer to Daniel, a painter, who becomes a key character. Adrien's prologue, the third and last, gives us an introduction to Adrien, who becomes our narrator throughout the rest of the film. These three characters are whom the story revolves around. Sharing a mutual friend, the three of them come to share a villa during their vacation. Adrien, an art dealer who is played by Patrick Bauchau, has made it his goal to do absolutely nothing during his stay. He and Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) become friends fairly quickly, but both keep their distance from Haydee (Haydee Politoff), the beautiful young girl who beds a different guy every night. Adrien is at first disgusted with her behavior, calling her a "collector" of men, but eventually becomes intrigued by her. As he grows more and more attracted to her, Adrien must decide whether or not to sleep with her and forget his moral integrity or to abstain and do what he knows is right. Through his narration, Adrien debates this and plays mind games with Haydee, although he's not sure if she shares the attraction or if she simply wants to add him to her collection.

This film is simply beautiful. The sexual tension feels very real, which is due to both the performances of the actors and the direction of Eric Rohmer, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. The narration is refreshing, offering a good look into Adrien's mind. La Collectionneuse is very sharp with its dialogue and themes. Like the other Rohmer films I've seen, this one ends very abruptly. It reminds us that we're watching these people's lives for only a short time. The 87 minutes is completely worth it, though. La Collectionneuse is a great film and should be regarded in higher esteem than it seems to be. I can't imagine why this one isn't ranked alongside the greats.

10/10

The arrogant and pretentious intellectual art dealer Adrien (Patrick Bauchau) invites his girlfriend to travel with him to the coast to spend one month vacation with his close friend and painter Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) in the house of their Randolphe. Adrien expects to do nothing but read and rest in the house and meet a possible investor in an art gallery that he dreams on having; however she prefers to travel to London. When he arrives, he discovers that the sexy and promiscuous pleasure-seeking Haydee (Haydée Politoff) that had one nightstand with Randolphe is sharing the house with Daniel. Along the days, Adrien becomes obsessed in a sick game of humiliating Haydee and imaging that she is trying to seduce him; however, his lust for her increases but his moral rationalization of their possible relationship keeps them apart.

"La Collectionneuse" is an erotic tale of arrogance, false value judgment and pretentious intellectuality of a false moralist. The witty and cynical screenplay uses excessive narrative in off of the unlikable lead character Adrien that is despicable as well as his friend Daniel. Actually, the only likable character is the libertine Haydee that accepts passively the cruel comments and treatment of Adrien and Daniel. Eric Rohmer uses the successful idea of a triangle of love with two men and a woman of "Jules et Jim" in a different and monotonous approach. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Colecionadora" ("The Female Collector")

It's hard to explain what is the Rohmer's cinema. In his movies you can't find heroes, incredible adventures or great action sequences. Everything happens inside the mind of the characters, and the most important aspect is the psychology of them.

La Collectioneuse is simply the masterpiece of Rohmer.

The plot is very simple: two boys and one girl in their friend's house in St.Tropez. That's all. There are not incredible events that happen, they simply LIVE there. It's an typical situation of Rohmer who likes to study the evolution of love triangles, in different situations. The explanation of the development steps, made by the usual interior voice of the main character (Adrien), it's incredibly accurate and likely. It's fantastic that sometimes Adrien's thoughts look at first to be absurd, but even in this case if we reflect a bit to that we can realize that it's true, that really in similar cases we have non-sense thoughts like those. In this way, Rohmer is unique: the psycho-evolution of the characters is incredibly real. Dialogs, internal and not, are superb and the directing essential.

Rohmer shows us how it's possible to make a masterpiece with a ridiculous budget, and how an intellectual movie can be also enjoyable and not so heavy.

The vote, of course, can't be different by 10 out of 10.

"La Collectionneuse", the third film in Eric Rohmer's six moral tales, is packed with lacerating observations on life, love, and the nature of man. It is a sensitive conversation piece with elegant people commenting poetically on their lives and of those around them. Attractive men and women who reflect openly about the conflicts of intellect and impulse; inclination and action, solitude and companionship. Rohmer characteristically paces this eloquent tale of sexual temptation with long, fluid takes. "La Collectionneuse(Collector Girl) centers around a young, hedonistic girl(Haydee) who saunters laconically around the provincial environs of a large vacation home, seemingly indifferent to the two older men's(Adrian and Danele) existence. Haydee exudes a casual independence and an unflappable reserve. Her cursory dealings with her young lovers prompts Danele to cast her as 'the atrocious ingenue'. Though they find her unexpectedly alluring, both men regard 'the idea of collecting boyfriends opposite of purity'. Rohmer, the director of "Chloe in the Afternoon" and "A Tale of Springtime", enjoys revealing which individual can best cast their charm and guile to their best advantage. This 'game' between the sexes only leads to unwanted desires for the men and a resumption of her search by Haydee. Rohmer handles the material with a light touch throughout and concludes his story by offering a tenuous solution to the prevailing tension in the movie between one's solitude and fraternity. Adrian privately confesses that 'I was overwhelmed by a feeling of delightful independence, of total self-determination. But in the emptiness and silence of the house, I was overcome with anguish'. A universal truth clearly-rendered by one of cinema's most ingenious and graceful filmmakers.