The Bakery Girl of Monceau (1963) User Reviews

French Pastry

[st-shot · 7/10 · 16 February 2008]

The first of Eric Rohmer's six moral tales, The Girl at the Bakery Monceau is probably what newcomers to the unorthodox style of film-making Rohmer employs should first be exposed to. Not because they should be seen in order but more or less due to the fact that the film is under thirty minutes. As in all the tales the theme ( chauvinist male protagonist conflicted over two women) remains the same and in Monceau you are given a small dose of what will carry over into the full length explorations of men in self righteous struggle with reality and ideals.

A young law student on a nearly daily basis passes a young woman he is attracted to on the streets of Paris. Encouraged by his friend to pursue her he asks her out after literally bumping in to her. She agrees to set a date when they meet again but then disappears for days after. The young man begins to search for her by combing the area, sacrificing his meals to give him more time to do so. He substitutes pastry from a local bakery to cover his nourishment. Having no luck with finding Sylvie, he begins to pursue Jacqueline the bakery counter girl while he continues his search.

Rohmer's literary style can be quite trying and his protagonists obnoxiously condescending. His characters are neither heroic or noble. Rohmer's narrative style which depends heavily on interior monologue reveals some ugly truths that may not cause catastrophe but offer insightful points of view that makes the audience pause in reflection. We sometimes see ourselves in such reflections as well as friends and acquaintances.

Eugene O'Neil said "We live in illusion and die in reality." Nothing supplies illusion better than the darkened dream palace which allows us to storm a beach, race a car through city streets, go a round or two with Sugar Ray or get close to Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner. In all of his tales Rohmer narrows that gap, exposing a hum drum reality with a fickle illusion born of self deception. There is a subtle subversive reward to be found in all of the "Moral Tales" and with The Girl at the Bakery Monceau he is off to an excellent start.

Believable characters and a strong sense of location

[howard.schumann · 8/10 · 12 April 2005]

The first film of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, The Girl at the Monçeau Bakery, only twenty-three minutes in length, centers on the dilemma of a young man (Barbet Schroeder) forced to choose between women. The young man, a law student, is infatuated with Sylvie (Michele Girardon), a girl he sees walking on the street each morning and thinks about how to introduce himself. After making a brief connection, the girl suddenly disappears and he spends his days looking for her on the streets of Paris. His search takes him to a nearby bakery where he buys one cookie each day and begins to notice Jacqueline (Claudine Soubrier), the bakery counter girl.

She is shy and withdrawn but when she finally agrees to go out with him, the first woman reappears and he is faced with a choice between a girl he hardly knows but loves and a promising relationship with a girl that has taken to him. He arrives at his choice but it is done coldly and with little regard for the feelings of the rejected woman, rationalizing this by telling himself, "My choice had been above all, moral. One represented truth, the other a mistake, or that was how I saw it at the time." The film, though a first effort, offers believable characters and conveys a strong sense of location, providing a loving glimpse at Paris in the 60s.

Charming Romantic Short

[framptonhollis · 7/10 · 30 December 2015]

"The Bakery Girl of Monceau" is the first film in Eric Rohmer's great "Six Moral Tales" film series. While it doesn't match the excellence of later films in the series , it is still a great and charming short film that serves as a nice preview to what the film series would eventually become.

The film stars future filmmaker Barbet Schroeder (who went on to direct films such as "Maîtresse", "General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait", and "Koko: A Talking Gorilla") as a young law student who seems to fall in love with a young woman at a bakery-but not really. It's kind of a complicated situation in a very simple yet somewhat complicate short film. Really, you have to experience it for yourself and you'll understand what I mean by it being utterly simple yet overly complex at the same time.

In the end, Rohmer offers us a charming, witty, and romantic short film that is definitely one of the best short films I've seen in a long time, even if it doesn't offer a lot to write a review about.

A hidden gem amidst many Rohmer classics

[sharansrinivas-g · 22 March 2021]

I find myself thinking a lot about Rohmer's short film, The Bakery Girl of Monceau. It's a part of his Six Moral Tales, all aligned with the same story: Boy is previously (a) engaged, (b) married, (c) has a girlfriend, or (d) saw a girl on the street; Boy meets another girl who catches his interest; Boy is tempted to the limits to get serious with the girl (or in some cases, get lucky); Boy finally remembers the first girl and leaves.

In The Bakery Girl of Monceau - much like My Night At Maud's - the girl that the protagonist is initially smitten with, is someone he sees during his mid-day walks. The day she stops crossing his paths, the protagonist decides to continue walking around areas where he has either seen the girl before or where women of her kind would visit. He becomes desperate and hungry which leads him to a Bakery where he meets the second girl. She works at the bakery and is an early example of a fleshed out Rohmer woman.

I keep thinking about the Bakery Girl of Monceau because this could have been the plot of a "meet cute" film. But, it is not. The protagonist is tensed that the girl may have moved or may have even found another man. So, when the bakery girl asks him out, he says yes with very little enthusiasm.

Sometimes, I wonder if it's really that easy to stumble into a nice movie.. even if it's a short one.

Can you read minds?

[stimpy_tr · 7/10 · 20 July 2020]

An interesting short film by Eric Rohmer. A university student in Paris falls in love with a girl with whom he encounters about everyday in the street but cannot find the courage to talk.

The film mostly consists of the narration of intimate thoughts of the man while he is chasing the girl in the streets. To console himself in her absence, he begins flirting with another girl in a bakery. His thoughts become even more complicated. The narrative style is so impressive that you find yourself reading the protagonist's mind.

Very tightly woven short film with a realistic story. Good intro to "Six Moral Tales."

[ruthierocks · 9/10 · 9 December 2008]

The first of Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" collection is lovely, twenty-five minute short about a young man who must choose between the girl of his longing and another, more attainable girl. The young man in question narrates this short film. On his daily journeys, he encounters a beautiful girl named Sylvie on a regular basis. He begins to fall for her and even stalks her to a point. When he goes several days without seeing her, the young man in question begins to search for her. In his search, he encounters a small bakery. The young man begins a daily routine of entering the bakery for a cookie and the young girl who works there begins to develop feelings for him. Though the young man resists his own feelings at first, he finally decides to ask her out. Trouble results, though, when he runs into Sylvie on that very day.

The Girl at the Monceau Bakery, the first Rohmer film I'd seen, is pretty impressive. In its short (about twenty-five minute) running time, this film manages to weave a story with very believable conflict and quick resolution. This is a very simple film and does not pull any punches. The young narrator is a realistic character: he's a college student with girls on the brain. He isn't mature enough to realize that his own decisions affect others just as much as they affect him. The young man is rather selfish and the moral dilemma that he faces stems from that. The acting here is not bad, but far from first rate. It is, however, a good early achievement from Rohmer. Watching this, I am intrigued to dig deeper into his body of work.

9/10

A Nice Bit Of Pastry

[boblipton · 7/10 · 12 December 2023]

Law student Barbet Schroeder meets Michèle Girardon in the street and makes a sort-of date for another time. She vanishes for a while. While he wanders looking for her, he flirts with bakery shop assistant Claudine Soubrier in one of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales.

It's a look at a small district in Paris, between the markets and shops, and doesn't seem to have much point other than that youth is simultaneously fickle and steadfast... and likes a bit of pastry. In fact, that pastry side becomes a bit of a metaphor for Mlle Soubrier in the mind of Schroeder, who narrates what's going on his own mind.

the first moral tale is decidedly one-sided, but full of the strengths of both Rohmer and the New Wave

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 10 July 2007]

Eric Rohmer's The Bakery Girl of Monceau isn't a very great film- the chief liability is Barbet Schroeder, the 'Young Man' as he's called, who isn't expressive much at all, almost stilted when he has to say his lines outside of the narration which is when he does fine- but it's one that has some very solid ideas about attachment to one who is more of an unknown, and possibly unattainable. Unlike My Night at Maud's, however, Rohmer doesn't infuse a religious context, but rather that of the anxious and romantic youth, of a guy who has nothing else to do outside of his minor class work than to find a possible one-true-love walking along a particular street of Paris. He waits all the time for a woman he was at first shy to introduce himself to, and doesn't see her. His habit of getting a cookie or two from the local bakery leads him to the bakery girl, a wide-eyed girl of (only!) 18, who doesn't go out with boys but may make an exception for the charming young man.

Meanwhile, Rohmer lays on the moral dilemma- or sort of a put-on of a moral dilemma, which actually makes it more interesting- of this character while making it a surprisingly cool film directorial-wise. As great as he can be with his dialog, until this I haven't taken Rohmer as too much on the scale of being AS great as a director (not bad at all, to be sure, though a slight peg less than his old buddies Truffaut and Godard). But with this small-scale story and totally on-location scenes, he has some striking moments in just showing the young man walking on the street- jump cuts, quite amazing even in such rough form- and in the bakery, where the slightest bits of a close-up or an image of a cookie dropping mark as something significant. There's even a moment or two when the young man is with his friend early on where the camera speed seems to come close to looking like a silent film.

At only 23 minutes long, this isn't a very complex little film, and it ends sort of at a 'that's that' kind of way, but it sets a very good precedent for the rest of the 'Moral tales' to follow. It's the kind of short I'd probably like to watch again if I have a half hour to kill in a random moment in the future.

Slice of Life

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 9 April 2014]

The first of "The Six Moral Tales" is taut and somewhat uneventful. Man is a selfish cad. Man falls in love from a distance but loses track of the young woman. His encounters with the bakery girl in question move toward an acknowledgment that second best is better than nothing. Hearts are broken and feelings hurt. The strength of the film is not in any recognizable plot but in the camera work of the alleyways of the setting. Everything is set in a kind of microcosm where all the principles are pushed together. It's almost as if there are no other streets in the city. The young man is so unlikeable and yet so driven as to continue to go to the little bakery and buy the same thing day after day, hoping to gain sight of his missing target. I agree with previous reviewers that this was probably practice for the great director. A little, inconsequential foray into serious filmmaking.

Rohmer's 6 moral tales > The 10 Commandments of God

[alansabljakovic-39044 · 8/10 · 21 May 2020]

Wonderful start for Rohmer's 6 moral tales which defined French New Wave. This is honestly one of his best movies, absolutely magnificent piece of art!

All talk in the first of the Six Moral Tales.

[Red-125 · 6/10 · 12 August 2020]

The short French film La boulangère de Monceau (1963) was shown in the U.S. with the translated title The Girl at the Monceau Bakery. The movie was written and directed by Éric Rohmer. It's the first of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales.

Director Barbet Schroeder, in his first acting role, is the young man who narrates the film. Michèle Girardon portrays Sylvie, whom the young man knows he will love, if he could only find her again in her neighborhood.

When he can't find her, he makes it a habit to flirt with Jacqueline, the young woman who works in the bakery. (Portrayed by Claudine Soubrier.)

Like all of Rohmer's films, there's lots of talk, and not much action. However, in his later films, the talk was more interesting, as were the characters.

This movie has a strong 7.6 IMDb rating. I didn't care for it, and rated it 6.

The First of the "Six Moral Tales"

[nycritic · 8/10 · 6 September 2006]

It's said that a writer tells the same story over and over again. Eric Rohmer during a period spanning some nine years developed an idea in regards to the relationship between a man, the ideal woman he loves, and the alluring temptation that presents itself as an aggressive female. In LA BOULANGERE DE MONCEAU, he begins his six-part observation in which a young law student played by Barbet Schroder (who would also become a noted director) who falls for a pretty woman named Sylvie he sees walking down the street. He eventually makes his introduction, rather clumsy and coy, but soon after she is missing. During that time he meets another woman, Jacqueline, who works at a pastry store. He gets acquainted with her, while analyzing his own attraction -- Jacqueline not being his type. He even makes the move of inviting her out. Eventually he reconnects with Sylvie who explains her absence via an accident she had had and which had left her foot in a cast. She also lets him in on the fact that she's been aware of his flirtation with the bakery girl because her window opens to the street. By the film's end, the young student has made his decision in a rather cold and calculating way, rationalizing that while Jacqueline was a distraction and their relationship would have failed, Sylvie was the one with whom he could find fulfilment with. Shot in a documentary-like feel which was the style of the New Wave, Rohmer's short film subject is pretty well developed despite its length, with hints of the characters that would appear in his later films. Contemplative and observational like a comedy of manners and a nice introduction to his study of what happens when a man meets his ideal woman and his carnal desire.

Nicely atmospheric and very French

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 11 September 2015]

"The Bakery Girl of Monceau" is a bit of a misleading title for this film by Eric Rohmer from over 50 years ago. The reason is that the main character is clearly a male and we watch how he has to decide between two women, a blonde and a brunette, and in the end he does not go for the bakery girl. It runs for slightly over 20 minutes and is one of these French atmospheric black-and-white films. I thought there is always some nice artistry to these and this one is no exception. I don't think it is an outstanding piece of filmmaking, but certainly worth a watch. The Iranian-born lead actor Barbet Schroeder also went on to become a successful director in the decades after this film and even scored an Oscar nomination. The two female actresses weren't as successful as Schroeder and Rohmer. One never appeared in another film, the other committed suicide still at a very young age. But they left us a memory here. I recommend this short film.

J'aime pas Rohmer

[cronostitan · 2/10 · 28 August 2013]

Yes but not, sorry... The chap so much looks old man-game, hoisted otherwise downright prig, whom we can only look at this movie with one certain unhealthy curiosity ! Of course there is highly-rated charming one resulted from the vintage heroines of the narrative and we could return on highly-rated heroic of all the dredgers and seducers of the world, but Rohmer does not make so much effort to look after the personality of his characters that the set seems finally all the same very dated, and I do not even speak about it has no sense of humor characteristic total moreover of the style of this director. Even if its true down in France, off the park of Monceau, we'd see from time to time people of this kind near the most beautiful avenue in the world...

For the charm of Paris

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 15 October 2021]

Especially in the early sixties, streets of Paris serve here as settings for a cute character study about a young man in search of dating a girl whom he doesn't know at all. Acting is not very good, or maybe too old fashioned. Actors don't play this way anymore today, especially non professional ones. Michèle Girardon is as beautiful as she was in HATARI, two years earlier. Such a shame that she disappeared at only 36 years old.

relationships are complicated

[lee_eisenberg · 9/10 · 1 October 2022]

Early in Éric Rohmer's career, he directed a movie series that he called Six Moral Tales. This series began with "La boulangère de Monceau" ("The Bakery Girl of Monceau" in English). On the one hand, it depicts the complexities of relationships. As to the issue of morality, Rohmer didn't mean this in the context of knowing right from wrong; rather, it was about analyzing the characters' feelings. The movie addresses the issue of guilt, with everyone being guilty in some way. There's also the issue of being in multiple relationships at once.

Whatever the case, it's one of the all-time classics. Anyone focusing on film theory definitely needs to take the time to watch it.

Lead actor Barbet Schroeder later became a director in his own right. He did "Barfly" and "Reversal of Fortune", and also made a brief appearance in "Mars Attacks!" as the president of France.

Like a practice film....

[planktonrules · 21 July 2011]

This is a short film by Eric Rohmer--and the first of his six so-called 'Morality Tales'. Unlike some of his later films, this one seems much more like a typical French New Wave film--with its unusual camera work (looking more like an amateur film at times), use of natural settings and unusual style.

"The Bakery Girl of Monceau" begins with a young man noticing a pretty lady as he walked to college. He's interested in her but they don't know each other at all--and he's working up the courage to talk to her. Eventually, he bumps into her and they talk a bit. He asks her out for coffee but she declines--but tells him she'd be willing in the future. The problem, however, is that for some time he returns to his daily route and doesn't see her. Instead, however, he becomes interested in a girl who works in a bakery. What will become of this and will the original girl return?

While I know that many love Rohmer and New Wave films, this one seems like it's more a practice film than a finished product. It's incredibly mundane--to the point of almost being banal. Because of this, it's not for the casual viewer--and a film that is really impossible to rate.

A very interesting production indeed

[ersbel · 8 August 2018]

This should be the minimum for any beginner film maker today. Back than, censorship, poverty, and a rigid hierarchy make this production something worthy of a mature team. The camera is clean. The scenes are correct. The story is very rudimentary, yet well finished.

There is no magic in there. Sure, compared with the governmental production of the French back in the day, the film is quite refreshing. Still, parroting the half baked thoughts of film critics back in the day and talking about the je ne sais quoi of this movie, well, that's just pompousness.

Myself I have disliked the story. The story of an aggressive loser. Is he self absorbed? No. Rohmer is male absorbed and the women are just centerfolds pasted on the wall.