If anybody in school uses or has used the textbook French in Action, they mention this movie. Our mid-term exam had a whole page devoted to the plot of this story. I have heard that it is pretty good, but I don't know if i should rent it or not. Somebody please tell if I should watch it depending on what other movies I like.
I was cured, all right.
If you can handle Eric Rohmer's talky style, you'll like it. The scenery is sunny and beautiful and the characters are likeable, even if one of the main characters has an unexplained uncontrollable urge to touch a young woman's knee. This could have been a mildly bizarre sidelight in this movie, but is handled well and doesn't ruin things.
share[deleted]
Wow, a post in December, and replies months later ... maybe you've seen the film by now... well, anyway ...
If you enjoyed French In Action at all, then you would get a bit extra watching Genou de Claire in french and comparing against the subtitles. And you might get something French more imporant than the language ... a bit of the French psychology.
You don't say what part of the world you're from, but I'm over in North America here, and in the time since 1970 there's been so much attention given to sex abuse stuff that this movie had all my alarms going. The guy somewhat encourages the attention of a girl who is much younger than is legal here, and plots what -sounds- likle a seduction of an older sister who is still too young for him ...
There's a nice cozy scene where he and the young lady are up on a hillside, no one around for miles it seems, they snuggle, his arm around her, her head snuzzling into his shoulder, while they talk about this and that and whether they are going to go further, what will happen in that hotel with the two of them tonight ... and yet I keep hearing about how this stuff is an innocent relationship.
BUT ... maybe that is just the French way, and he means nothing by it, and darn it even the little girl's FATHER okays an overnight hiking trip for this guy and the young teenage girl where they would stay overnight (supposedly in separate rooms) in a hotel. Maybe I'm just an american who still does not react correctly to European and French ways, of hugging when greeting and giving each other kisses when saying hello.
Actually, many people have called attention to the repressed sexuality in this film, and who knows? It just may be the French way.
I recommend the film to you, but pay attention to what your expectations are. The guy does not spend the whole film staring at a young girl's knee, there is nothing like nudity and it is not an erotic-fest (not saying that was what you were after). The main thing, for me, is that I saw it a long time ago, and have spent much time remembering it and thinking about it -- that has been a good test of a film, for me.
YMMV. Enjoy.
>> I was cured all right.
"Have I made myself clear?" "As an unmuddied lake, Fred. As clear as an azure sky of deepest summer. You can rely on me, Fred."
Ooh la la.
Forget the sexual yearnings. The most sensual part of this movied was the feel for the French countryside near Lake Lemans. You can hear the bees buzz and boats on the lake and feel the heat of summer.
If you can't get to France in summer, watch this movie.
It's ageless.
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Well, I agree. When I recall this film, I almost can feel the air over the lake heading into my sinuses, with a certain smell that I recall from summer vacations spent on a freshwater reservoir.
The fact that, to go out in the evening, one hops into the motorboat instead of a car, that gives me a summer-y feel right off.
It's a rental, not a marriage. Take a chance. Live. If you don't like it, don't watch his other movies.
Personally, though, I'd start with Chloe in the Afternoon.
this is one thing I love about the works of Rohmer, and also applies to other French films: while the movie retained a sense of innocence, and beauty, there was this realisation at the back of my head of how it would have gone if it had been an American film... Laura and the male lead (forgot his name, lol) would have ended up sleeping together and it could have developed into an exploitation piece. Think of it this way... how many films have began with a character engaged or married, and yet they still remained in the same status at the end without any infidelities? Rohmer probably didn't even consider going there, stayed true to the plot and the film is far better as a result.
shareI'd advise against following the advice to skip Rohmer's other films if you don't like this. I was quite put off by it but LOVED some of his other works, though I also wouldn't blame someone for being charmed be Claire's Knee.
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