Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the post-World War II French New Wave directors to become established. He edited the influential film journal '' Cahiers du cinéma'' from 1957 to 1963, while most of his colleagues—among them

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...

and

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

—were making the transition from critics to filmmakers and gaining international attention. Rohmer gained international acclaim around 1969 when his film '' My Night at Maud's'' was nominated at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. He won the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in ...

with '' Claire's Knee'' in 1971 and the Golden Lion at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

for '' The Green Ray'' in 1986. Rohmer went on to receive the

's Career Golden Lion in 2001. After Rohmer's death in 2010, his obituary in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' described him as "the most durable filmmaker of the French New Wave", outlasting his peers and "still making movies the public wanted to see" late in his career.

Early life

Rohmer was born ''Jean-Marie Maurice Schérer'' (or ''Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer'') in Nancy (also listed as Tulle),

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.department,

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...

, France, the son of Mathilde (née Bucher) and Lucien Schérer. Rohmer was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. He was secretive about his private life and often gave different dates of birth to reporters. He fashioned his pseudonym from the names of two famous artists: actor and director Erich von Stroheim and writer Sax Rohmer, author of the

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comi ...

series. Rohmer was educated in Paris and received an advanced degree in history, though he seemed equally interested and learned in literature, philosophy, and theology.John Wakeman, ''World Film Directors, Volume 2, 1945-1985''. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1988. pp. 919-928.

Career as a journalist

Rohmer first worked as a teacher in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attra ...

. In the mid-1940s he quit his teaching job and moved to Paris, where he worked as a freelance journalist. In 1946 he published a novel, ''Elisabeth'' (AKA ''Les Vacances'') under the pen name Gilbert Cordier. While living in Paris, Rohmer first began to attend screenings at

Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often ...

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

, where he first met and befriended

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues a ...

, Jacques Rivette and other members of the French New Wave. Rohmer had never been very interested in film, preferring literature, but soon became an intense lover of films and about 1949 switched from journalism to film criticism. He wrote film reviews for such publications as ''Révue du Cinéma'', ''Arts'', '' Temps Modernes'' and ''La Parisienne''. In 1950, he co-founded the film magazine ''La Gazette du Cinéma'' with Rivette and Godard, but it was short-lived. In 1951 Rohmer joined the staff of André Bazin's newly founded film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma'', of which he became the editor in 1956. There, Rohmer established himself as a critic with a distinctive voice; fellow ''Cahiers'' contributor and French New Wave filmmaker Luc Moullet later remarked that, unlike the more aggressive and personal writings of younger critics like Truffaut and Godard, Rohmer favored a rhetorical style that made extensive use of questions and rarely used the first person singular.Luc Moullet
The Mask and the Role of God.
Mubi Notebook. Rohmer was known as more politically conservative than most of the ''Cahiers'' staff, and his opinions were highly influential on the magazine's direction while he was editor. Rohmer first published articles under his real name but began using "Éric Rohmer" in 1955 so that his family would not find out that he was involved in the film world, as they would have disapproved. Rohmer's best-known article was "Le Celluloïd et le marbre" ("Celluloid and Marble", 1955), which examines the relationship between film and other arts. In the article, Rohmer writes that in an age of cultural self-consciousness, film is "the last refuge of poetry" and the only contemporary art form from which metaphor can still spring naturally and spontaneously. In 1957 Rohmer and Claude Chabrol wrote ''Hitchcock'' (Paris: Éditions Universitaires, 1957), the earliest book-length study of

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

. It focuses on Hitchcock's Catholic background and has been called "one of the most influential film books since the Second World War, casting new light on a filmmaker hitherto considered a mere entertainer". ''Hitchcock'' helped establish the auteur theory as a critical method and contributed to the reevaluation of the American cinema that was central to that method. By 1963 Rohmer was becoming more at odds with some of the more radical left-wing critics at ''Cahiers du Cinéma''. He continued to admire US films while many of the other left-wing critics had rejected them and were championing '' cinéma vérité'' and Marxist film criticism. Rohmer resigned that year and was succeeded by Rivette.

Film career

1950–1962: Shorts and early film career

In 1950 Rohmer made his first 16mm short film, ''Journal d'un scélérat''. The film starred writer Paul Gégauff and was made with a borrowed camera. By 1951 Rohmer had a bigger budget provided by friends and shot the short film '' Présentation ou Charlotte et son steak''. The 12-minute film was co-written by and starred Jean-Luc Godard. The film was not completed until 1961. In 1952 Rohmer began collaborating with Pierre Guilbaud on a one-hour short feature, ''Les Petites Filles modèles'', but the film was never finished. In 1954 Rohmer made and acted in ''Bérénice'', a 15-minute short based on a story by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. In 1956 Rohmer directed, wrote, edited and starred in ''La Sonate à Kreutzer'', a 50-minute film produced by Godard. In 1958 Rohmer made '' Véronique et son cancre'', a 20-minute short produced by Chabrol. Chabrol's company AJYM produced Rohmer's feature

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

, '' The Sign of Leo'' (''Le Signe du lion'') in 1959. In the film an American composer spends the month of August waiting for his inheritance while all his friends are on vacation and gradually becomes impoverished. It included music by Louis Sagver. ''The Sign of Leo'' was later recut and rescored by distributors when Chabrol was forced to sell his production company, and Rohmer disowned the recut version.James Monaco. ''The New Wave''. New York: Oxford University Press. 1976. p. 287. In 1962 Rohmer and Barbet Schroeder co-founded the production company Les Films du Losange (they were later joined by Pierre Coltrell in the late 1960s). Les Films du Losange produced all of Rohmer's work (except his last three features produced by La Compagnie Eric Rohmer).

1962–1972: ''Six Moral Tales'' and television work

Rohmer's career began to gain momentum with his ''Six Moral Tales'' (''Six contes moraux''). Each of the films in the cycle follows the same story, inspired by F. W. Murnau's '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (1927): a man, married or otherwise committed to a woman, is tempted by a second woman but eventually returns to the first. For Rohmer, these stories' characters "like to bring their motives, the reasons for their actions, into the open, they try to analyze, they are not people who act without thinking about what they are doing. What matters is what they ''think'' about their behavior, rather than their behavior itself." The French word "moraliste" does not translate directly to the English "moralist" and has more to do with what someone thinks and feels. Rohmer cited the works of

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pascal's earlies ...

, Jean de La Bruyère,

François de La Rochefoucauld François de La Rochefoucauld may refer to: * François III de La Rochefoucauld (1521–1572), French courtier and soldier * François de La Rochefoucauld (writer) (1613–1680), French author * François de La Rochefoucauld (cardinal) (1558–164 ...

and

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de ...

as inspirations for the series.James Monaco. ''The New Wave''. New York: Oxford University Press. 1976. He clarified, "a ''moraliste'' is someone who is interested in the description of what goes on inside man. He’s concerned with states of mind and feelings." Regarding the repetition of a single storyline, he explained that it would allow him to explore six variations of the same theme. Plus, he stated, "I was determined to be inflexible and intractable, because if you persist in an idea it seems to me that in the end you do secure a following." The first ''Moral Tale'' was ''

The Bakery Girl of Monceau ''The Bakery Girl of Monceau'' (french: La Boulangère de Monceau) is a 1962 short film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. The film was the first of Rohmer's ''Six Moral Tales'' ("Contes moraux"), which consisted of two shorts and four feature ...

'' (1963). This 26-minute film portrays a young man, a college student, who sees a young woman in the street and spends days obsessively searching for her. He meets a second woman who works in a bakery and begins to flirt with her, but abandons her when he finally finds the first woman. Schroder starred as the young man and Bertrand Tavernier was the narrator. The second ''Moral Tale'' was ''

Suzanne's Career ''Suzanne's Career'' (french: La Carrière de Suzanne) is a 1963 French comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. It is the second instalment in Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" series. A flirty Guillaume seduces a woman named Suzanne, w ...

'' (1963). This 60-minute film portrays a young student who is rejected by one woman and begins a romantic relationship with a second. The first and second ''Moral Tales'' were never theatrically released and Rohmer was disappointed by their poor technical quality. They were not well known until after the release of the other four. In 1963 Les Films du Losange produced the New Wave omnibus film '' Six in Paris'', of which Rohmer's short "Place de l'Etoile" was the centerpiece. After being driven out of his editor position at ''Cahiers'', Rohmer began making short documentaries for French television. Between 1964 and 1966 Rohmer made 14 shorts for television through the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) and Télévision Scolaire. These included episodes of ''Filmmakers of Our Time'' on Louis Lumiere and

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...

, educational films on Blaise Pascal and Stéphane Mallarmé, and documentaries on the

Percival Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Gra ...

legend, the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and female students in Paris. Rohmer later said that television taught him how to make "readable images". He later said, "When you show a film on TV, the framing goes to pieces, straight lines are warped...the way people stand and walk and move, the whole physical dimension...all this is lost. Personally I don't feel that TV is an intimate medium." In 1964 Rohmer made the 13-minute short film ''Nadja à Paris'' with cinematographer Nestor Almendros. Rohmer and Schroder then sold the rights of two of their short films to French television in order to raise $60,000 to produce the feature film '' La Collectionneuse'' in 1967, the third ''Moral Tale''. The film's budget went only to film stock and renting a house in

St. Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Alp ...

as a set. Rohmer described it as a film about ''l'amour par désoeuvrement'' ("love from idleness"). ''La Collectionneuse'' won the Jury Grand Prix at the

17th Berlin International Film Festival The 17th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June – 4 July 1967. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Belgian film '' Le départ'' directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. Jury The following people were announced as being on the ju ...

and was praised by French film critics, though US film critics called it "boring". The fourth ''Moral Tale'' was '' My Night at Maud's'' in 1969. The film was made with funds raised by Truffaut, who liked the script, and was initially intended to be the third ''Moral Tale''. But because the film takes place on Christmas Eve, Rohmer wanted to shoot the film in December. Actor Jean-Louis Trintignant was not available so filming was delayed for a year. The film centers on Pascal's Wager and stars Trintignant,

Françoise Fabian Michèle Cortes (born 10 May 1933), known professionally as Françoise Fabian (), is a French film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1956. In 1971, Fabian signed the Manifesto of the 343, publicly declaring having had an ab ...

, Marie-Christine Barrault and Antoine Vitez. ''My Night at Maud's'' was Rohmer's first successful film both commercially and critically. It was screened and highly praised at the

1969 Cannes Film Festival The 22nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 23 May 1969. At this festival a new non-competitive section called Directors' Fortnight was added, in response to the cancellation of the 1968 festival. The Grand Prix du Festival International d ...

and later won the Prix Max Ophüls. It was released in the US and praised by critics there as well. It eventually received Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Film. James Monaco wrote, "Here, for the first time the focus is clearly set on the ethical and existential question of choice. If it isn't clear within ''Maud'' who actually is making the wager and whether or not they win or lose, that only enlarges the idea of ''le pari'' ("the bet") into the encompassing metaphor that Rohmer wants for the entire series." The fifth ''Moral Tale'' was '' Le genou de Claire'' (''Claire's Knee'', 1970). It won the Grand Prix at the

, the Prix Louis Delluc and the Prix Méliès, and was a huge international success.

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death i ...

called it "something close to a perfect film." It was Rohmer's second film in color. Rohmer said, "the presence of the lake and the mountains is stronger in color than in black and white. It is a film I couldn't imagine in black and white. The color green seems to me essential in that film...This film would have no value to me in black and white." The sixth and final ''Moral Tale'' was 1972's '' Love in the Afternoon'' (released as ''Chloe in the Afternoon'' in the US). Molly Haskell criticized the film for betraying the rest of the series by making a moral judgment of the main character and approving of his decision in the film. Overall, Rohmer said he wanted the ''Six Moral Tales'' "to portray in film what seemed most alien to the medium, to express feelings buried deep in our consciousness. That's why they have to be narrated in the first person singular...The protagonist discusses himself and judges his actions. I film the process."

1972–1987: Adaptations and ''Comedies and Proverbs''

Following the ''Moral Tales'' Rohmer wanted to make a less personal film and adapted a novella by Heinrich von Kleist, ''La Marquise d'O...'' in 1976. It was one of Rohmer's most critically acclaimed films, with many critics ranking it with ''My Night at Maud's'' and ''Claire's Knee''. Rohmer stated that "It wasn't simply the action I was drawn to, but the text itself. I didn't want to translate it into images, or make a filmed equivalent. I wanted to use the text as if Kleist himself had put it directly on the screen, as if he were making a movie ... Kleist didn't copy me and I didn't copy him, but obviously there was an affinity." In 1978 Rohmer made the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...

legend film '' Perceval le Gallois'', based on a 12th-century manuscript by

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ...

. The film received mostly poor critical reviews.

Tom Milne Tom Milne (2 April 1926 – 14 December 2005) was a British film critic. See also After war service, he studied English and French at Aberdeen University and later at the Sorbonne. Interested in the theatre too, he wrote for the magazine '' ...

said that the film was "almost universally greeted as a disappointment, at best a whimsical exercise in the faux-naif in its attempt to capture the poetic simplicity of medieval faith, at worse an anticlimatic blunder" and that it was "rather like watching the animation of a medieval manuscript, with the text gravely read aloud while the images — cramped and crowded, coloured with jewelled brilliance, delighting the eye with bizarre perspectives — magnificently play the role traditionally assigned to marginal illuminations." In 1980 Rohmer made a film for television of his stage production of Kleist's play ''

Catherine de Heilbronn ''Catherine de Heilbronn'' is a 1980 French TV film made by Éric Rohmer for the television channel Antenne 2. It is a record of Rohmer's stage production of the play ''Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' by Heinrich von Kleist at the Théâtre des Ama ...

'', another work with a medieval setting. Later in 1980 Rohmer embarked on a second series of films: the "Comedies and Proverbs" (''Comédies et Proverbes''), where each film was based on a proverb. The first "Comedy and proverb" was '' The Aviator's Wife'', which was based on an idea that Rohmer had had since the mid-1940s. This was followed in 1981 with ''

Le Beau Mariage ''Le Beau Mariage'' (''The Good Marriage'') is a 1982 French film directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Béatrice Romand, André Dussollier, Féodor Atkine. It is one of Rohmer's "comedies and proverbs" (''comédies et proverbes''). Its theme i ...

'' (''A Perfect Marriage''), the second "Comedy and Proverb". Rohmer stated that "what interests me is to show how someone's imagination works. The fact that obsession can replace reality." In his review of the film, film critic

Claude Baignères Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

said that "Eric Rohmer is a virtuoso of the pen sketch...

e had not been E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); pl ...

at ease with the paint tubes that Persival required, ut in this film he createda tiny figurine whose every feature, every curl, every tone is aimed at revealing to us a state of soul and of heart." Raphael Bassan said that "the filmmaker fails to achieve in these dialogues the flexibility, the textual freedom of ''The Aviator's Wife''. ''A Perfect Marriage'' is only a variation on the spiritual states of the

petty bourgeoise ''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological s ...

who go on and on forever about the legitimacy of certain institutions or beliefs confronted by problems of the emotions. Quite simply, this is a minor variation on this central Rohmerian theme." The third "Comedy and proverb" was '' Pauline at the Beach'' in 1983. It won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. It was based on an idea that Rohmer had in the 1950s, originally intended for

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

. Rohmer often made films that he had been working on for many years and stated "I can't say 'I make one film, then after that film I look for a subject and write on that subject...then I shoot.' Not at all...these are films that are drawn from one evolving mass, films that have been in my head for a long time and that I think about simultaneously." The fourth "Comedy and Proverb" was '' Full Moon in Paris'' in 1984. The film's proverb was invented by Rohmer himself: "The one who has two wives loses his soul, the one who has two houses loses his mind." The film's cinematographer Renato Berta called it "one of the most luxurious films ever made" because of the high amount of preparation put into it. The film began with Rohmer and the actors discussing their roles and reading from the film's scenario while tape recording the rehearsals. Rohmer then re-wrote the script based on these sessions and shot the film on Super 8mm as a dress rehearsal. When the film was finally shot, Rohmer often used between two and three takes for each shot, and sometimes only one take. Alain Bergala and

Alain Philippon Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviatio ...

have stated that "all the art of Eric Rohmer consists of creating on the set a veritable osmosis among himself, the actors and the technicians." Rohmer even encouraged actress Pascale Ogier to design sets for the film since her character is an interior decorator. Ogier later won the Best Actress award at the

. Alain Philippon called the film "one of the most accomplished films that Rohmer has given us...and that if the film moves it is because of its own risk-taking." The fifth "Comedy and Proverb" was '' The Green Ray'' in 1986. Rohmer explained that "I was struck by the naturalness of television interviews. You can say that here, nature is perfect. If you look for it, you find it because people forget the cameras." As was becoming his custom in pre-production, Rohmer gathered his cast together to discuss the project and their characters, but then allowed each actor to invent their own dialogue. Rohmer stated that lead actress Marie Rivière "is the one who called the shots, not only by what she said, but by the way she'd speak, the way she'd question people, and also by the questions her character evoked from the others." The film was shot chronologically and in 16mm so as to be "as inconspicuous as possible, to have Delphine blend into the crowd as a way, ultimately, of accentuating her isolation." Rohmer also instructed his cinematographer Sophie Maintigneux to keep technical aspects of the shoot to a minimum so as to not interrupt or distract the actors. The film's only major expense was a trip to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...

in order to film the green rays there. Rohmer chose to première the film on Canal Plus TV, a pay-TV station that paid $130,000 for the film, which was only one fifth of its budget. Rohmer stated that "Cinema here will survive only because of television. Without such an alliance we won't be able to afford French films." The experiment paid off when the film was a theatrical hit after being released three days after its initial broadcast. It won the Golden Lion and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1986

. It was mostly praised by film critics, although

Alain Robbe-Grillet Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the '' Nouveau Roman'' (new novel) trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and ...

wrote an unfavorable review and stated "I didn't like it very much." The Sixth "Comedy and Proverb" was '' Boyfriends and Girlfriends'' (''L'Ami de mon amie'') in 1987.

1987–2009: ''Tales of the Four Seasons'' and later film career

He followed these with a third series in the 1990s: ''Tales of the Four Seasons'' ('' Contes des quatre saisons''). ''Conte d’automne'' or '' Autumn Tale'' was a critically acclaimed release in 1999 when Rohmer was 79. The previous titles of the series were ''

A Tale of Springtime ''A Tale of Springtime'' (french: Conte de printemps) is a 1990 French comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Anne Teyssèdre, Hugues Quester and Florence Darel. It is the first instalment in Rohmer's "Contes des quatre ...

'' (1990), '' A Tale of Winter'' (1992), and '' A Summer's Tale'' (1996). Beginning in the 2000s, Rohmer, in his eighties, returned to period drama with '' The Lady and the Duke'' and '' Triple Agent''. ''The Lady and the Duke'' caused considerable controversy in France, where its negative portrayal of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

led some critics to label it monarchist propaganda. Its innovative cinematic style and strong acting performances led it to be well received elsewhere. In 2001, his life's work was recognised when he received the Golden Lion at the

. In 2007, Rohmer's final film, ''

The Romance of Astrea and Celadon ''The Romance of Astrea and Celadon'' (french: Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon) is a 2007 historical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer and starring Andy Gillet Andy Gillet (born 8 July 1981) is a French fashi ...

'', was shown during the Venice Film Festival, at which he spoke of retiring.

Style

Rohmer's films concentrate on intelligent, articulate protagonists who frequently fail to own up to their desires. The contrast between what they say and what they do fuels much of the drama in his films. Gerard Legrand once said that "he is one of the rare filmmakers who is constantly inviting you to be intelligent, indeed, more intelligent than his (likable) characters." Rohmer considered filmmaking to be "closer to the novel—to a certain classical style of novel which the cinema is now taking over—than the other forms of entertainment, like the theater." Rohmer saw the full-face closeup as a device that does not reflect how we see each other and avoided its use. He avoids extradiegetic music (not coming from onscreen sound sources), seeing it as a violation of the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cent ...

. He has on occasion departed from the rule by inserting soundtrack music in places in '' The Green Ray'' (1986) (released as ''Summer'' in the United States). Rohmer also tends to spend considerable time in his films showing his characters going from place to place, walking, driving, bicycling or commuting on a train, engaging the viewer in the idea that part of the day of each individual involves quotidian travel. This was most evident in (1982), which had the female protagonist constantly traveling, particularly between Paris and Le Mans. Rohmer typically populates his films with people in their twenties and the settings are often on pleasant beaches and popular resorts, notably in '' La Collectionneuse'' (1967), '' Pauline at the Beach'' (1983), '' The Green Ray'' (1986) and '' A Summer's Tale'' (1996). These films are immersed in an environment of bright sunlight, blue skies, green grass, sandy beaches, and clear waters. He explained that "people sometimes ask me why most of the main characters in my films are young. I don't feel at ease with older people ... I can't get people older than forty to talk convincingly." Rohmer preferred to use non-professional actors in his films. He usually held a large number of rehearsals before shooting and would shoot his films very quickly. He spent little time editing his films. He usually shot his films chronologically, and often shot scenes during the time of day in which they took place. He explained that "my films are based on meteorology. If I didn't call the weather service everyday, I couldn't make my films because they're shot according to the weather outside. My films are slaves to weather." The director's characters engage in long conversations—mostly talking about man–woman relationships but also on mundane issues like trying to find a vacation spot. There are also occasional digressions by the characters on literature and philosophy as most of Rohmer's characters are middle class and university educated. ''A Summer's Tale'' (1996) has most of the elements of a typical Rohmer film: no soundtrack music, no close-ups, a seaside resort, long conversations between beautiful young people (who are middle class and educated) and discussions involving the characters' interests from songwriting to ethnology. Rohmer said he wanted to look at "thoughts rather than actions", dealing "less with what people do than what is going on in their minds while they are doing it." Beginning in the late 1970s during the production of '' Perceval le Gallois'' Rohmer began to reduce the number of crew members on his films. He first dispensed with the script supervisor, then (controversially) cut out the

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have t ...

, then all other assistants and technical managers until, by the time he shot ''The Green Ray'' in 1986, his crew consisted only of a camera operator and a sound engineer. Rohmer stated that "I even wonder if I could work in the usual conditions of filmmaking." His style was famously criticised by Gene Hackman's character in the 1975 film '' Night Moves'' who describes viewing Rohmer's films as "kind of like watching paint dry". Rohmer was a highly literary man. His films frequently refer to ideas and themes in plays and novels, such as references to

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraord ...

(in ''The Green Ray''),

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

(in ''A Winter's Tale'') and Pascal's wager (in ''Ma nuit chez Maud'').

Personal life and death

Rohmer's brother is the philosopher

René Schérer René Schérer (25 November 1922 – 1 February 2023) was a French philosopher and professor emeritus of the universite de Paris VIII. Biography Schérer was born in Tulle on 25 November 1922. He is the younger brother of filmmaker Éric Ro ...

. In 1957, Rohmer married Thérèse Barbet. The couple had two sons. The elder, René Monzat (b. 1958), is an author and investigative journalist at, most recently,

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

and

Mediapart ''Mediapart'' is an independent French investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of ''Le Monde''. ''Mediapart'' is published in French, English and Spanish. ''Mediapart's'' income is solely derive ...

. His work focuses on the French far-right. Rohmer was a devout Catholic and "ecological zealot". For years he had no telephone and refused to get into cars, which he called "immoral pollutors". For many years he was known to jog two miles to his office every morning. He was well known for his need for personal privacy and sometimes wore disguises, such as a false moustache at the New York premiere of one of his films. Rohmer's mother died without ever knowing that her son was a famous film director. Éric Rohmer tombe

Rohmer died on the morning of 11 January 2010 at the age of 89 after a series of strokes.Anoine de Baecque and Noël Herpe ''Éric Rohmer : a biography''. New York: Columbia University Press. 2016. He had been admitted to hospital the previous week. The former Culture Minister Jack Lang called Rohmer "one of the masters of French cinema". Director

Thierry Fremaux Thierry is a French male given name, derived from the Germanic "Theodoric". It is the cognate of German " Dietrich" and " Dieter", English Terry, Derek and Derrick, and of various forms in other European languages. It is also a surname. People wi ...

called his work "unique". Rohmer's grave is in district 13 of Montparnasse Cemetery. At the 2010 César Awards, actor Fabrice Luchini presented a special tribute to Rohmer:

I'm gonna read a remarkable text written by Jacques Fieschi, writer, director, creator of "the cinematographe", challenger of ''Les cahiers du cinéma'', which recently published a special edition on Eric Rohmer. Truffaut once said he was one of the greatest directors of the 20th century, Godard was his brother, Chabrol admired him, Wenders couldn’t stop taking photos of him. Rohmer is a tremendous international star. The one and only French director who was in coherence with the money spent on his films and the money that his films made. I remember a phrase by Daniel Toscan Du Plantier the day ''Les Visiteurs'' opened, which eventually sold 15 million tickets: "Yes but there is this incredible film called ''L'arbre, le maire et la médiathèque'' that sold 100,000 tickets, which may sound ridiculous in comparison, but no, because but it was only playing in one theater for an entire year." A happy time for cinema when this kind of thing could happen. Rohmer. Here is a tribute from Jacques Fieschi: "We are all connected with the cinema, at least for a short time. The cinema has its economical laws, its artistic laws, a craft that once in a while rewards us or forgets us. Éric Rohmer seems to have escaped from this reality by inventing his own laws, his own rules of the game. One could say his own economy of the cinema that served his own purpose, which could skip the others, or to be more accurate that couldn't skip the audience with its originality. He had a very unique point of view on the different levels of language and on desire that is at work in the heart of each and every human being, on youth, on seasons, on literature, of course, and one could say on history. Éric Rohmer, this sensual intellectual, with his silhouette of a teacher and a walker. As an outsider he made luminous and candid films in which he deliberately forgot his perfect knowledge of the cinema in a very direct link with the beauty of the world." The text was by Jacques Fieschi and it was a tribute to Éric Rohmer. Thank you.

On 8 February 2010, the

held a special tribute to Rohmer that included a screening of '' Claire's Knee'' and a short video

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

to Rohmer by

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Features

* '' The Sign of Leo'' (1962) * '' The Collector'' (1967) * '' My Night at Maud's'' (1969) * '' Claire's Knee'' (1970) * '' Love in the Afternoon'' (1972) * ''

The Marquise of O ''The Marquise of O'' (german: Die Marquise von O....) is a novella by Heinrich von Kleist on the subject of forced seduction. It was first published in 1808. Synopsis The story begins with a one-sentence paragraph -- the widowed Marquise von O. ...

'' (1976) * '' Perceval le Gallois'' (1978) * ''

'' (1980, television film) * '' The Aviator's Wife'' (1981) * '' A Good Marriage'' (1982) * '' Pauline at the Beach'' (1983) * '' Full Moon in Paris'' (1984) * '' The Green Ray'' (1986) * '' Boyfriends and Girlfriends'' (1987) * '' Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle'' (1987) * ''

Le trio en mi bémol ''Le Trio en mi bémol'' is a brief filmed theatrical comedy directed by Éric Rohmer in 1988 starring Pascal Greggory and Jessica Forde. It runs for 75 minutes. Plot Paul and Adèle were once lovers and separated but are still good friends, one ...

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990) * '' A Tale of Winter'' (1992) * ''

The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque ''The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque'' (french: L'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèque; known also as ''Les sept hasards'') is a 1993 French comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. The film was shown at the 1993 Montreal Worl ...

'' (1993) * '' Rendezvous in Paris'' (1995) * '' A Summer's Tale'' (1996) * '' Autumn Tale'' (1998) * '' The Lady and the Duke'' (2001) * '' Triple Agent'' (2004) * ''

'' (2007)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* de Baecque, Antoine and Herpe, Noël. ''Éric Rohmer''. Stock. 2014. . * Montero, José Francisco & Paredes, Israel. Imágenes de la Revolución. La inglesa y el duque/La commune (París, 1871). 2011. Shangrila Ediciones. https://web.archive.org/web/20140421082451/http://shangrilaedicionesblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/imagenes-de-la-revolucion-intertextos.html * ''Eric Rohmer: Realist and Moralist'' (Midland: 22 June 1988) ''Eric Rohmer: Realist and Moralist''
Retrieved 30 July 2017

n+1 N1, N.I, N-1, or N01 may refer to: Information technology * Nokia N1, an Android tablet * Nexus One, an Android phone made by HTC * Nylas N1, a desktop email client * Oppo N1, an Android phone * N1, a Sun Microsystems software brand now mostly ...

"The Grave of Eric Rohmer (Maurice Scherer), Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohmer, Eric 1920 births 2010 deaths 20th-century French novelists Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Cahiers du Cinéma editors Directors of Golden Lion winners French film critics French film directors French journalists French male novelists French male screenwriters French people of German descent French Roman Catholics French screenwriters German-language film directors Lycée Henri-IV alumni People from Tulle Silver Bear for Best Director recipients