Claire's Knee
by Eric Rohmer
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Actor: Aurora Cornu, Béatrice Romand, Jean-Claude Brialy, Laurence de Monaghan, Michèle MontelDirector: Eric Rohmer
Cinematographer: Néstor Almendros
Writer: Eric Rohmer
Editor: Cécile Decugis
Producer: Barbet Schroeder
Producer: Pierre Cottrell
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-03-31
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Fox Lorber
DVD Reviews of Claire's Knee
DVD Review: An interesting Rohmer, but nowhere near his best.
Summary: 3 Stars
Typical Rohmer character study of an engaged man reassuring himself that while he is at the moment "still free", he is not in the least bit interested in any other women. During a vacation, a friend introduces him to a woman with 2 teenage daughters (17-19 years-old). Our main character spends the first half of the film convincing himself and others that he is quite comfortable with his fiancee and needs no one else, however finds himself drawn to the younger daughter. The 2nd half of the film finds him suddenly attracted to the other daughter, and developing an obsession with touching her knee, which he sees her boyfriend doing. By the end of the film, he achieves this goal and that's it, our little Rohmer moral tale is over.
Not very unlike his other films, however the characters and dialogue were not as interesting and compelling to watch as those in films such as My Night at Maud's, A Tale of Springtime, Boyfriends and Girlfriends, Chloe in the Afternoon, and Summer. All of these films I noted, I wouldn't mind repeated viewings, however once was enough with Claire's Knee. I feel this is one of his films that does not stand the test of time too well, as much as the others do. The morals in his other films were more intense and attention grabbing, but this one borders on almost not caring about this guy's situation at all.
As for the DVD quality, yes, we know what to expect from Fox/Lorber, however it is not as bad as other reviewers state. The opening scenes start out with tons of artifacting, but that quickly gets better moments into the film. The audio is clear and I found the picture was sharper than Chloe in the Afternoon. This is still slightly above VHS quality, where Chloe was really not.
Description of Claire's Knee
Abrasive, self-deluded humor tinges the prickly exploration of sexual politics in French director Eric Rohmer's world and it often makes for less-than-comfortable viewing. Though Rohmer has made movies for several decades, his best-known films comprise a cycle loosely dubbed "The Six Moral Tales" (one short, one featurette, and four features), which also includes La Collectionneuse, My Night at Maud's, and Chloe in the Afternoon. Rohmer's comedies are full of the disillusion and jaded settling that come with age and adulthood, and he sharply contrasts cynicism against the naiveté and easy, innocent wisdom of youth. In Claire's Knee, Jean-Claude Brialy plays a diplomat named Jerome Montcharvin, who agrees to housesit a friend's rural but lavish country estate for a month. Jerome appears contented with life as he's recently become engaged to Lucinde, a woman he's known for six years. He takes refuge in the fact that she is his opposite, and placates his doubts by reminding himself that "a woman made for me would bore me." Into this summer idyll and Jerome's predictable, ordered life come two teenage girls who threaten his faithful but passionless ardor for his fiancée. To temper his awakening libido, Jerome pretends to "experiment" with the young women's affections and, in doing so, exposes himself as a cruel, callous man who is clueless as to his true nature. Though a close woman friend cautions him that "in love, there is will," he dismisses the possibility yet in the end performs an act of "pure will" with one of the teens, the lovely Claire, and brashly hurts that which he most desires. Claire's Knee was shot by the brilliant cinematographer, the late Nestor Almendros, and the color palette in the film is a masterpiece of style and scheme. It's a Monet on celluloid, and its visual prowess, combined with the provocative, unsettling theme, earned the National Society of Film Critics' Best Film prize in 1971. (Unfortunately, the first "reel" of the DVD transfer contains several noticeable scratches and the color is also faded and purple.) --Paula NechakBestsellers in DVD
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