Pauline à la plage (1983)

Director:

Eric Rohmer

Writer:

Eric Rohmer (writer)

Release Date:

23 March 1983 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Marion is about to divorce from her husband and takes her 15-year-old niece Pauline on a vacation to Granville. She meets an old love...

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Cousin | Seaside | Beach | Female Nudity

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Amanda Langlet	...	Pauline
Arielle Dombasle	...	Marion
Pascal Greggory	...	Pierre
Féodor Atkine	...	Henri
Simon de La Brosse	...	Sylvain
Rosette	...	Louisette

Also Known As:

Pauline at the Beach
Sous le soleil (France) (working title)
I Pauline stin paralia (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
I Pauline stin plage (Greece) [el]
Paulina na Praia (Portugal) [pt]
Paulina na plazy (Poland) [pl]
Pauline a la platja (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Pauline alla spiaggia (Italy) [it]
Pauline am Strand (West Germany) [de]
Pauline en la playa (Spain) [es]
Pauline na Praia (Brazil) [pt]
Pauline rantatyttö (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl | USA:R | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Mont Saint-Michel, Manche, France

Company:

Les Films Ariane

Quotes:

Marion: She shouldn't be picking up idiots on the beach.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinéma, de notre temps: Eric Rohmer - Preuves à l'appui" (1994)

Relationships for beginners

Pure Rohmer essay on love and relationships. What I find very interesting about Rohmer's film is that you can always think back and apply some aspect of the story to your own life. Difficult break-ups, being in love with someone who doesn't love you or worst, who loves someone you consider an idiot. Just like Pierre is having difficulty explaining that it's not jealousy if he doesn't want Marion to get hurt by getting involved with Henri. Love, when you think of it, is one of the most difficult thing to explain. Actually, can you explain it? Sometimes, the obvious for one is not the obvious for another. And the "naïveté amoureuse" of the other can make someone go crazy.

The dialogs in this movie - and there's quite a few - are intelligent, well thought by the director. Some themes that I noted: in love, you share everything, even the suffering; perfection is oppressing; love is a type of illness. Each sentence of the script can practically be dissected.

A final word: I liked the performance given by Arielle Dombasle. She reminds me of Pascale Ogier in another great Rohmers film, "Les Nuits de la pleine lune", that came out one year later.

80/100 (***)

Seen at home, in Toronto, on November 14th, 2004.