RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS
(LES RENDEZ-VOUS DE PARIS)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Do you like reading short stories? Are you willing to stay with a picture where not much happens but where you get to eavesdrop on a host of endearing characters? Well, if you do, I have just the film for you, RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS (LES RENDEZ-VOUS DE PARIS). This old fashioned film is 75 year old writer and director Eric Rohmer's (CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON and CLAIRE'S KNEE) homage to romance especially flirting and to Paris.
Films today either sex or don't. There is little time for romance. When it is there, it is quickly dispensed with so they can get to the sex. Actually, that is over with quickly too so they can cut to the action scenes and the violence which is understood to be what it takes to sell tickets these days. Remember nothing sells popcorn like a film full of fistfights and car chases.
There is a subtler form of romance known as flirting and few films waste time with that. RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS has such non-stop flirting that it could have been called FLIRTING except that title was taken. All of the characters in RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS flirt - even the ones not in romantic relationships with each other. When you leave you may yourself winking at the person at the snack bar unless you are careful. This film puts you in love with love.
The format for the film is that there are three short stories. Introducing each are some hokey street singers and images that look like they are lifted straight out of a 50s film. The picture itself was consciously filmed with a hazy look by cinematographer Diane Baratier. The director wanted this nostalgic look, but it may send you to the concession stand to complain until you know it is on purpose.
In the first story, entitled "The Seven O'Clock Rendezvous," Esther's (Clara Bellar) boyfriend Horace (Antoine Basler) is supposedly running around on her according to her friend Felix (Malcolm Conrath) so she devises a complex ruse to make Horace jealous. A stranger named Aricie (Judith Chancel) enters the story and after a scene where the two women flirt with each other, Esther leaves to trap Horace.
In "The Benches of Paris" two lovers meet at benches all over Paris. The woman (Aurore Rauscher) lives with her boyfriend, but is cheating with a man (Serge Renko) whom she meets at places where she will not be seen by her live-in boyfriend. The unnamed man and woman spend the entire time flirting with each other and engaging in closed mouth kisses. This story ends in the biggest twist, but all three stories have somewhat of a surprising ending.
We were in Paris this summer, and I found the second story reminded me of our trip. We saw more intense necking on the streets in a week than I've seen in several years in cities in America.
In the concluding story, "Mother and Child," a painter (Michael Kraft) has a gorgeous Scandinavian visitor (Veronika Johansson). They disagree on paintings, arguing about who is a cubist and who is a surrealist. When they go to a museum, he leaves her to flirt incessantly with a less attractive married woman (Benedicte Loyen). The married woman, who is in Paris only for the afternoon, flirts with him too and creates the biggest mystery of all of the stories - where will this all lead.
RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS is a wonderful talkfest of a film. If there is any recent movie that even remotely resembles it, it would probably be that wonderful film BEFORE SUNRISE from last year. Some may criticize RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS as being inconsequential, but for me it is a real treat that grows on you as you see it and is one of those few films whose images are indelibly marked in your memory.
Finally, the actors are mainly a bunch of unknowns, but all deliver strong performances. Their screen presence is incredible, and the camera is love with them.
RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS runs a breezy 1:34. It is in French (appropriately called the language of love), but with sharp and easy to read English subtitles. It is rated PG, and there is nothing to offend anyone of any age. There is no sex, nudity, violence, or bad language. Except that three year olds will have little interest in romance, the film could easily have been rated G. I recommend the show to anyone of any age interested in love and flirting, and I award it ***. Now, don't forget to be careful when you pass the person at the snack bar if your spouse is with you. In the real world, flirting can get you in a lot of trouble.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: September 4, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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