Lars Von Trier and his Dogma95 crowd could learn a few things from the work of Eric Rohmer. This film also boasts a largely improvised script, is shot using available natural light, and has no post-dubbed score. I would imagine it cost a good deal less to make than Thomas Vinterberg's 'Festen', with its huge cast and 64 hours of rough footage to be edited down. But Rohmer's emphasis is on naturalism rather than a forced faux-naif, and the cinematography, though simplistic, makes good use of the natural beauty of the Ardeche landscape and its clear blue skies. There is also a story here, some beautiful performances, a slight whimsical humour rather than an ironic smirk, and warm, well-rounded characterisation. It is a sedately paced film, with no major themes, revelations or insights, but a bold and realistic portrayal of a host of characters who are seldom depicted on the cinema screen; the middle-aged rural bourgeoisie. Those whose cinematic demands consist of an endless barrage of sensual stimulation will be disappointed, but for a soporific Sunday afternoon viewing, it is very hard to resist its charms. Rohmer has been making films like these for decades (Pauline a la Plage, La Raie Verte), so the film is less conceived as a fist in the face to contemporary cinema than as another quietly confident offering from an established auteur of a truly alternative cinema with nothing more to prove.
Review of Autumn Tale
