Conte d'automne (1998)
Directed by Eric Rohmer

Film 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, warmer even than the preceding Conte d'été (1996).  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 (who had featured in the director's previous Le Beau mariage and Le Rayon vert) 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.

Film Synopsis

Magali is an attractive widow in her mid-forties who, since her children left home, now lives alone, tending to her large vineyard in the Rhone valley.  Her friend Isabelle knows she is pining to have a new man in her life and sets about trying to remedy the situation, by putting a personal ad in the local newspaper (something that Magali would never dream of doing herself).  Isabelle receives several responses to the ad and the man she selects is Gérard, a  good-looking sales rep.  Disappointed that Isabelle is not herself looking for love, Gérard agrees to meet Magali at her home.  Meanwhile, Rosine, the girlfriend of Magali's son Léo, also decides to indulge in a spot of matchmaking.  The man she thinks will be ideal for the solitary winegrower is Étienne, her former philosophy teacher, with whom she once had an affair...