Pauline à la plage (1983)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marie Bouteloup	...	Marie (uncredited)
Michel Ferry	...	Sylvain's Friend (uncredited)

Directed by
Eric Rohmer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Eric Rohmer		writer

Produced by
Margaret Ménégoz	....	producer

Original Music by
Jean-Louis Valéro

Cinematography by
Néstor Almendros

Film Editing by
Cécile Decugis
Chris Tate		(as Christopher Tate)

Production Management
Marie Bouteloup	....	unit manager
Hervé Grandsart	....	unit manager

Sound Department
Dominique Hennequin	....	sound mixer
Gérard Lecas	....	sound assistant
Georges Prat	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Florent Bazin	....	assistant camera
Pierre Coudsi	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Caroline Thivel	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Michel Ferry	....	assistant manager

Production Companies

• Les Films Ariane
• Les Films du Losange

Distributors

• Acteurs Auteurs Associés (AAA) (1983) (France) (theatrical)
• Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Home Video (GCTHV) (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2007) (Brazil) (DVD) (Portuguese and French subtitles)
• Guerilla Films (UK)
• Kinokuniya (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Orion Classics (USA) (subtitled)
• Orion Pictures Corporation (USA)

Other Companies

• Alga-Samuelson  camera systems
• Auditel  editing
• Banc public  titles
• Ciné Lumières de Paris  electrical equipment
• S.I.S.  auditorium

Also Known As:

Pauline at the Beach
Sous le soleil (France) (working title)
I Pauline stin paralia (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

Company:

Les Films Ariane

Quotes:

Henri: Tourists bring out the killer in me!

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.