#347: ROHMER, Eric: Claire's Knee (1970)

SIX MORAL TALES {Spine #342}

ROHMER, Eric (France)

Claire's Knee [1970]

Spine #347
DVD

"Why would I tie myself to one woman if I were interested in others?" says Jérôme, even as he plans on marrying a diplomat's daughter by summer's end. Before then, Jérôme spends his July at a lakeside boardinghouse nursing crushes on the sixteen-year-old Laura and, more tantalizingly, Laura's long-legged, blonde half sister, Claire. Baring her knee on a ladder under a blooming cherry tree, Claire unwittingly instigates Jérômes moral crisis and creates both one of French cinema's most enduring moments and what has become the iconic image of Rohmer's Moral Tales.

106 minutes
Color

Monaural

in French

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2006

Director/Writer

Eric Rohmer was 50 when he wrote and directed Claire's Knee.

Other Rohmer films in the Collection:

#343: The Bakery Girl from Monceau (1962)
#344: Suzanne's Career (1963)
#346: La Collectionneuse (1967)
#345: My Night at Maud's (1969)
#348: Love in the Afternoon (1972)
#1206a: A Tale of Springtime (1990)
#1206b: A Tale of Winter (1992)
#1206c: A Tale of Summer (1996)
#1206d: A Tale of Autumn (1998)

The Film

Moral Tale V

Molly Haskell (see below) writes:

“In the Rohmerian world, talk is action, talk is eros, the springboard of his stories; and the ‘talkiness’ of his movies is no less cinematic — it moves, exposes and conceals, shows the drama of choice as it is being made, imagines its terrible and wonderful consequences.”

Geoff Andrew (see below) writes:

“As with Japan’s Yasujiro Ozu, within minutes — seconds even — of starting to watch one of Rohmer’s movies, it’s clear who made it.”

Although both quotes can easily refer to all six of the “Moral Tales,” they seem especially true in Claire’s Knee. There is a lot of talk — almost all of it direct from the previously written “novel” — but you know you are watching Rohmer the moment you see Jérôme (Jean-Claude Brialy) driving his boat under a bridge on Lake Annecy and espying his old friend Aurora (Aurora Cornu).

The film which unfolds from there not only features some amazing acting performances — the sixteen-year-old half sisters, Laura (Béatrice Romand) and Claire (the gorgeous Laurence de Monaghan), Laura’s mother, Madame Walter (Michèle Montel) Claire’s boyfriend, Gilles (Gérard Falconetti) and Laura’s friend, Vincent (Fabrice Luchini) — but some of the most spectacular scenery in filmdom! 

Yes, Falconetti was the grandson of Maria Falconetti, the star of The Passion of Joan of Arc (Criterion Spine #62). He died young, a tragic suicide.

Decide for yourselves whether touching Claire’s knee is an act of compassion, completion, or consummation.

Film Rating (0-60):

54

The Extras

The Book

Six Moral Tales by Rohmer

Rohmer wrote the book before he made the films. The Preface is quite instructional, as Rohmer details his process. Before or after viewing, the writing is excellent.

The Booklet

Sixty-page booklet featuring essays by Andrew, Haskell and Rohmer; plus Six Moral Tales, the original stories by Rohmer.

Commentary

None

Short

The Curve (1999), a collaboration between Edwige Shakti and Rohmer.

One can easily see why this is included here; Shakti directs and stars (displaying her beautiful body), while making a Rohmer-type point about how art distorts as it displays. Excellent short film.

Television program

Excerpt from program Le journal du cinéma, featuring interviews with actors Jean-Claude Brialy, Béatrice Romand, and Laurence de Monaghan.

Brialy tells us Rohmer asked him if he would be available to play the part three years in the future!

Romand and de Monaghan mostly talk over each other, with varying viewpoints about Eric Rohmer.

Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

33

54 + 33 =

87

By Director
By Spine #