Summer

And so we come to the end of my little Eric Rohmer retrospective. Unforunately, it did not end on a happy note.

I should have known there was trouble ahead when I read in a review book that the dialogue was largely improvised. As one or two of you may know, I hate improvised dialogue. How much do I hate improvised dialogue? Ever hear of a movie called Dancing at the Blue Iguana? It's a largely improvised film about strippers. This is a movie that features Daryl Hannah, Sheila Kelly, and Jennifer Tilly in various states of undress throughout. And I have never been able to sit through it.

That's how much I hate improvised dialogue. It's like watching actors in a circle-jerk. And reading it in subtitles sure doesn't help.

Since the dialogue is such a wash, the best parts of the movie come when the characters are silent, and we can watch them and imagine what they are feeling or thinking.

It also may be that four Eric Rohmer movies in as many days is too much--like him though I do, he does have a definite style and taste.