Pauline at the Beach

Éric Rohmer (1920-2010) has been called the last of the French "New Wave" directors.  He is known in America especially for his films My Night at Maud's (1969) and Claire's Knee (1970).  According to Wikipedia:

Rohmer's films concentrate on intelligent, articulate protagonists who frequently fail to own up to their desires. The contrast between what they say and what they do fuels much of the drama in his films. Gerard Legrand once said that "he is one of the rare filmmakers who is constantly inviting you to be intelligent, indeed, more intelligent than his (likable) characters."

This general description describes my personal reaction to Pauline at the Beach (1983), shown last night, as the first in a weekly series of nine Rohmer films, at the Seattle Art Museum.

Pauline at the Beach is the third in a series of films that Rohmer called "Comedies and Proverbs."  Those films followed an earlier and more probing series which he called "Six Moral Tales."  Pauline is the first of Rohmer's films that I have ever viewed, to the best of my knowledge.  Therefore, my comments are the reactions of an uneducated but interested viewer.

Marion arrives at a beach, somewhere in Normandy or Brittany, with her 14-year-old cousin Pauline.  Marion is beautiful. maybe about 30 although her age is hard to determine.  She is also giggly, flirty, talkative, inquisitive, and ultimately -- to me -- tiresome.  Pauline is young enough to still seem rather boyish, but surprisingly mature.  She is quiet, curious, non-judgmental, and reserved.  She smiles easily and seems to enjoy her life and being with her older cousin.

Marion meets Henri, a thirtyish extrovert, talkative, suave, experienced, and -- as it turns out -- somewhat tired of most women, but compulsive about going after them.  Just as she's becoming attracted by Henri, an old friend Pierre shows up.  Pierre is younger than Henri; he is idealistic, and believes in treating women as friends as well as romantic partners.  He has been desperately in love with Marion for years.

Marion likes Pierre as a friend, but tells him, essentially, that he is too predictable and boring.  She's not looking a for a friend.  She's not looking for someone like herself  She wants to -- she uses the word repeatedly -- "burn."  

Two men after one woman.  One man -- the one she wants -- is just going through the motions and is looking forward to adventurous travel.  The more admirable man -- the one who bores her -- is consumed with love and jealousy.  

Pauline watches this all, is pleasant to everyone, and says very little.  All three adults seem desperate to learn about Pauline's love life -- she is 14!   Has she never been in love, perhaps with an older man?  Oh yes, she replies, once.  With an older man, but he was too old for her.  He was 12 and she was only 6.  The fascination everyone felt rapidly rising collapses.  She smiles.

Pauline runs into Sylvain, a boy her age or maybe a year older, on the beach.  They talk and swim.  They make a nice-looking couple.  It appears to be the first love for each of them.  He is, like Pauline, quiet and thoughtful.  They are as much friends as lovers.  Meanwhile, each of the two men makes half-hearted plays for Pauline.  (This is France, after all.)  She makes it clear politely that, while some girls like older men, older men have no attraction for her.  But she continues to be friendly.  Everyone is always friendly, and very civilized.  Everyone shakes hands and/or kisses upon meeting and departing.

It's not worth describing in detail, but somehow Sylvain, in order to protect Henri, blunders into a situation where others believe he was having an affair with a girl selling candy along the boardwalk.  Pauline eventually hears both versions of the matter.  She decides that even if Sylvain was innocent of the affair, she couldn't forgive him for not standing up for himself when accused of it.  Marion prefers to believe that it was in fact Sylvain, and not Henri, whom Pierre saw, through a window, in bed with the candy girl.

The two cousins leave their beach vacation early.  Marion still believes in Henri's innocence, but tells Pauline that they can each believe their own version of the truth.  Pauline smiles as they drive off.

The story is mildly entertaining, and the dialogue is often witty.  None of these characters is stupid or gross or unduly selfish.  But all except Pauline (and perhaps Sylvain) are highly self-centered.  This is an unusually "talky" movie.  The sole subject of virtually all their conversations is "love."  What each expects from love, the varieties of love, past unfortunate experiences with love.  These are conversations that American men would shy away from as "girl-talk" -- but Henri and Pierre are as absorbed by the subject, and as verbose in discussing it, as is Marion.

Pauline alone stands apart.  She listens, she smiles, she perhaps rolls her eyes.  She seems somewhat older than the older people she observes.  She makes it clear that, while "love" may be important to her as well, life has other aspects that she is interested in exploring.

The others like her.  But they seem unable to understand her.