Movie: Love in the Afternoon (aka Chloe in the Afternoon)Year: 1971
In his negative review of "My Night at Maud's," Christopher Null of the web site filmcritic.com state that "I'd wager virtually no one has them all." He is referring, of course, to all of the "Six Moral Tales," and as of today, I can proudly and happily say that I have. In fact, I wouldn't have missed them and if I'm really good for the rest of the year, maybe Santa will leave the Criterion box set under my tree (hint, hint!). Of course, and my wife and friends would argue this point, I don't feel like it actually makes me a better human being that I've done this. I do think it makes me a better cineaste (budding one though that I am). I learned a lot from watching them--I think it's fair to say they are certainly films for thinking people. You can't check your brain at the door, and I think that's a good thing. I like to think, to be challenged and not have to work a little bit for the payoff. The "Six Moral Tales" one and all accomplished that, and that's the reason I will keep returning to these films for years and years to come.
Frederic (Bernard Verley) is living a charmed life. He has a wife named Helene (Francoise Verley, his real-life wife) who besides being beautiful is smart, successful and obviously devoted to him. You can just see in her expressions the love she feels for him. Frederic has a good job, a young child and another on the way. Frederic loves Paris; he feels stifled by the suburbs and feels truly alive in the streets of the city. What excites him the most are the Parisian women he sees daily. He is conscious of their presence everywhere--at the office, in stores or in cafes--and they flit about like so many butterflies. In the voiceover, Frederic tells us that their beauty is emblematic of his wife's beauty and that their beauty is a positive affirmation of his choice. Still though, he fantasizes and in the best scene of the film imagines that he has a magic amulet that will allow any woman to fall under his spell.
The women in this fantasy sequence are played by actresses from the other Moral Tales (Francoise Fabian-Maud; Marie-Christine Barrault-Francoise; Haydee Pollitoff-Haydee; Laurence de Monaghan-Claire; Aurora Cornu-Aurora and Beatrice Romand-Laura) and the scene is a fun nod to the other films in the series. The funniest exchange takes place with Aurora who tells Frederic she charges 10,000 francs. When Frederic replies that HE charges 20,000 she doesn't blink ("that's a bargain.") Even more clever I thought was that the only woman able to resist was the headstrong, determined Laura, still clearly her own woman.
But back to reality and all at once, Frederic's life is thrown for a loop with the arrival of Chloe (Zouzou). Frederic and Chloe have a shared past and after time abroad and a failed relationship, Chloe is back in Paris trying to get her life back on track. She is determined to make Frederic a part of that and sets out on a gradual course of seduction. She plants the seeds little by little--questioning whether Frederic's love for his wife is genuine and calling upon him for favors and company. As they continue to see more and more of each other, Frederic finds himself tempted to stray from his wife and sleep with Chloe (Chloe, for her part, has no problem with this and indeed has picked out Frederic to be the father of the child she so desperately wants). And there's the moral question--to cheat or not to cheat? Of course, depending on where the morals of the viewer lie, Frederic may or may not have cheated before the time comes to make the decision on the act. It's interesting--and up to each person to decide. The movie--and the series--ends with a big emotional wallop that lays bare the feelings of the characters involved.
Want to discuss "Love in the Afternoon?" Leave a message.
No comments:
Post a Comment