Pauline at the Beach
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Movie Reviews of Pauline at the Beach
Movie Review: One of Rohmer's best films, and the true nature of love...
Summary: 4 Stars
"Pauline At The Beach" (1983) is an interesting film that you are likely to enjoy, even if you are not one of Eric Rohmer's fans. If you are already an admirer, though, you will simply love this movie, due to the fact that it displays the reason why Rohmer is such a respected director.
Before talking about this film, a short introduction to Rohmer for those that are not familiar with him is in order. Rohmer (Jean Marie Maurice Schérer, born in 1920 in France) is part of "La Nouvelle Vague" (= "The new wave"), a movement that says that the director is an "author" and that as such, his personal signature is evident in his work. Among the most well-known films of this French director, there is a cycle of films called "Six Moral Tales", a series called "Comedies and Proverbs" (in which each film is based on a different proverb), and a third series entitled "Tales of the Four Seasons".
"Pauline At The Beach" (= "Pauline à la plage"») is the third film in the "Comedies and Proverbs" series, and the proverb around which it is centered is "Qui trop parole, il se mesfait". The plot is not difficult to follow, but it is interesting, specially if you pay close attention to the dialogues among the characters, a Rohmer trademark.
The main character is Pauline (Amanda Langlet), a young teenager that goes to the beach with Marion (Arielle Dombasle), a relative that has divorced recently and is ready for something new, in other words an affair. Pierre (Pascal Greggory), an old acquaintance and Henri (Feodor Atkine), a newcomer, vie for Marion's attention. Pauline thinks that Pierre is the right one for her cousin, but Marion has other ideas, preferring Henri. Henri is not as smitten with her as Pierre, but that, and the fact that he remains elusive, are part of his attraction from Marion's point of view. Pauline will also meet a young boy, Sylvain (Simon de La Brosse), with whom she begins something resembling a relationship. But how will her cousin's love life affect her own? And will their differing views regarding love affect their new relationships?
The dialogue about the true nature of love among Pauline, Marion, Pierre and Henry is one of the highlights of this film. The undercurrents between the older characters are deep, and in that sense, Pauline directness is refreshing. This dialogue also allows the spectator to get at least an idea of how things are going to end for each of the characters, even though, of course, there are some unexpected surprises.
All in all, I think this is one of Rohmer's best films, along with "A summer tale", "A winter tale" and "Boyfriends and girlfriends". Highly recommended!
Belen Alcat
Movie Review: A Comedy of Romantic Jostling at the Beach
Summary: 4 Stars
"Pauline at the Beach" is a fun comedy of errors set along the beaches of western Normandy in the early 1980s.Pauline (played by Amanda Langlet) is a fifteen-year old spending part of her summer vacation with her gorgeous, divorced cousin Marion (played by Arielle Dombasle) at a home loaned by Marion's brother. Pauline wants to make friends and has never been in love before. Marion believes love erupts passionately and spontaneously. Both are in for adventures.
Graduate student Pierre (played by Pascal Greggory) still carries a torch for Marion from the days before she married five years ago. Meanwhile, he wants to teach Pauline and Marion wind surfing. Divorced ethnologist Henri (played by Feodor Atkine) shows up and attracts Marion. Sylvain (played by Simon de La Brosse) is a local guy Pauline's age who takes an interest in her. There is a strolling vendor of peanuts and candy, Louisette, who is extra friendly with Henri, but is there a connection with Sylvain too? Just how well do you have to know someone before falling in love? All the makings of conflict and misunderstanding are there. Both Pauline and Marion learn to manage their interpretations and feelings.
The movie moves along nicely, although there are some reasonably interesting stops for discussion of the values and expectations of falling in love. The actors all do a good job, especially Dombasle and de La Brosse. Marion and Louisette have nude scenes; all characters have bathing suit scenes. The photography and direction are fine.
The main negative is the lack of a commentary track or other features, other than the original trailer and a few other MGM trailers. There is no paper insert with chapter titles. The movie is in monaural French with optional English, French, or Spanish subtitles.
Movie Review: A flirtatious philosophy discussion of love...
Summary: 4 Stars
Pauline at the Beach is exactly what the title suggests as it depicts the end of the 15-year-old Pauline's summer vacation. Pauline spends her time with her older cousin Marion, a stunningly attractive woman, who is in the middle of a divorce. Marion is getting away form her husband by staying at Pauline's parents summer home as she is candidly displaying her body and seeking attention from men. Pauline is a curious teenager that seeks love and what it all means as she innocently discovers the different shades of love at the French-Atlantic coast.Eric Rohmer wrote and created a flirtatious drama in Pauline at the Beach, which in all essence is a philosophical discussion of love. The discussion is apparent as the dialogues in the story generate the driving fundamental theme, love, which is submerged in all conversations in the film. Under Rohmer's direction the cinematic debate becomes an enlightening experience as it displays several different angles of how love is either reciprocal or one-sided. Through these insights of experience of love Pauline at the Beach offers a delightful and intriguing cinematic experience.
Movie Review: light-hearted pretension, but at least it ends pessimistically
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a coming of age film about getting it while on vacation. Some people are too serious and gushing sincerity, some stupid and self-deluding, some simply lustful and selfish. Pauline observes it all and grows, in my view acting more maturely than the adults. And the ending is realistic. There is nothing slick about Rohmer's production, and I never particularly liked his style and pedantic philosophical monologues, which the French really DO indulge in, in my humble experience. This uncompromising search for true love is endemic with the French I know, and I admit it bores me after having dealt with it for many years. You really can learn from this, at least about French culture, if not how to fall into healthy love. That makes this a pretty good film and it has some funny and unexpected twists. And the end is wonderfully un-Hollywood.Movie Review: Pauline At The Beach
Summary: 3 Stars
This is such a nice movie, it's a pity that Pauline (Amanda Langlet) wasn't nude or topless in it. She has a nice body and wears some very sexy bikinis. There is no nudity or violence in this movie.