MovieChat Forums > Le genou de Claire (1971) Discussion > Moral or immoral?

Moral or immoral?

posted 17 years ago by MovieMan0283part2
9 replies | jump to latest

This is a great movie, as much for the way it plays with the point of view and our sympathies as for the beautiful scenery, engaging dialogue, and the way it captures a summer month in the country. Putting aside questions of sexual morality (i.e. are the girls too young for the protagonist?) do you find the protagonist's actions moral or not?

I lean towards the latter, mostly on the basis of his behavior with Claire. The other girl, the one who appears to be foolishly and naively in love, actually turns out to be wise for her age and oddly enough, her and Brialy play like equals. My feeling is that he's dishonest throughout, but steps over the line when he toys with Claire's emotions in the end, making her cry just so he can touch her knee. Yet the tentativeness of his expression and the sensuality of the moment almost make up for this.

I liked the ending as well, where he rides off, pompously content that he has manipulated everyone to his advantage and then we stay with Claire, seeing, just for a moment, how her life continues and how the stain of this man's arrogance is lightly washed away. Keep in mind I'm not implying he was some villain in a black hat; on the contrary, we're encouraged to sympathize with him throughout and the film is all the more brilliant for it. But Rohmer gives us just enough distance to allow us to question his behavior and rationale for it.

Probably my favorite of the Moral Tales so far, though I still have to see Love in the Afternoon.

[–] Greenteeth 17 years ago

I did not approve of his behavior. It was obvious that Claire was not comfortable with his touching her. On one level, it was not a sexual touch, but on a deeper level, they both saw the touch as something intimate and a bit over the line.

[–] romanticnihilist 16 years ago

It was hilarious when the host passes the tea cup so low he almost touches Claire's Knee. Pretty funny stuff. This is obviously a brilliant film. All of the moral tales are coming in at a solid 8 or 9. I have seen four of them.

On another note. My DVD has a fantastic short, called "The Curve". A short film masterpiece if there ever was one. The artist speaks to the nude and they have great dialogue. Good DVD all around.

Roman

[–] djsnafu23 12 years ago

Yeah the short's really good too, nice choice of short for once! I love the movie, I can't believe how pleasantly surprised I've been nby this and chloe in the afternoon, amazing films. I had Rohmer pegged as a Truffaut/Godard/Antonioni type for some reaosn, and I cant wait to get more of his films now

myspace.com/bankrupteuropeans

Coz lifes too short to listen to Madlib

[–] timlin-4 12 years ago

He's immoral for touching a girl's knee...who is being banged every day by a cretin who will eventually give her venereal disease? Playing games with girls comes off as strange in the US because here they run things, manipulating naive guys and then jumping on them like dogs in heat

[–] franzkabuki 11 years ago

"I had Rohmer pegged as a Truffaut/Godard/Antonioni type".

What type would that be?

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] djsnafu23 11 years ago

To me, these directrs have no appeal, no good dialogue or provocative thoughts. Its all objective of course.

....

http://soundcloud.com/dj-snafu-bankrupt-euros

Coz lifes too short to listen to Madlib

[–] PoppyTransfusion 9 years ago

Jerome is, as Aurora remarks early on blindfolded. The difference is that Aurora was talking about heroes; Jerome is no hero. Here is a man who talks about his fiancee, Lucinde, in a way that makes the blood run cold. He's truly awful. I can't judge him mature enough to fit into a moral or immoral or amoral schema. His behaviour is objectionable and at odds with everything he says about himself. Hideous. I hated him.

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.

[–] LoizaAldea 9 years ago

But, it was Aurora who put these thoughts in his head to begin with. Even if was to help her finish her book I found it disturbing that a grown woman would suggest a man to engage in sexual activity with a young girl. In the beginning, like Jerome, I saw how Laura was checking him out but wouldn't have thought twice about it either.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 9 years ago

Perhaps but how is it so easy to plant thoughts in another? I would venture Jerome took her suggestion as tacit permission to do what he had thought about previously but did not dare. The pair of them seemed to be engaged in an intellectual match that had little to do with feeling or passion.

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.