Summary
Magali is a middle-aged widow and wine-grower living in the Rhone valley. She pines
for a new man in her life, but doubts whether she will ever find someone. Her friend,
Isabelle, puts a lonely hearts ad in a newspaper and manages to get a response.
All she has to do now is contrive for Magali and her prospective new boyfriend to meet.
Unfortunately, Magali’s son’s girlfriend has also decided to try a bit of matchmaking,
pairing Magali off with her ex-boyfriend...
Review
This is the final chapter in Rohmer’s ambitious Four Seasons cycle of films, and in many
ways it is the sunniest and most entertaining. As we have come to expect of Rohmer,
his script sparkles with intelligence and warmth, whilst his characters are fully formed,
likeable and completely believable. What this film shows more than anything is Rohmer’s
understanding of the aspirations and behaviour of all his protagonists – men and women,
teenagers and mature adults alike. His characters behave so naturally that, by the
end of the film, you film as if you almost know them personally – and, often, that you
wish you could meet them again in real life.
The theme for this film is maturity, achieving fulfilment in middle-age. The autumnal
theme, complete with the wine harvest, provides an appropriate backdrop against which
to set an engaging personal story: a lonely middle-aged woman's hopes to find a new husband.
Béatrice Romand is delightful as the wine-grower Magali, giving a convincing and
moving performance as the woman who secretly yearns for love but who seems resigned to
the fact that she will never find it. Although she is the centre-piece of
the film, she does not eclipse the supporting characters, all of whom seem equally well-formed
and have their own personal traumas.
It is true that there is not much in the way of a plot, but with such beautiful location
filming and such exquisite writing, that hardly seems to matter a jot. For Rohmer
what matters most is exploring human relationships through a simple, unconvoluted story,
using natural but incisive dialogue to add depth and purpose to his characterisation.
In this film, he achieves that goal and gives us one of the most insightful and beautiful
works of French cinema in recent years.
© James Travers 2001
For further information see:
Dennis
Grunes essay
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