The Green Ray Review:

Parisian secretary Delphine (Marie Riviere) is let down by her friends just before they are due to embark on their Summer vacation. Without a boyfriend she finds it hard to meet new people and even get along with her friends but she is determined not to waste her time in the city. Several jaunts to various destinations compound her loneliness and isolation until the story of the last green ray of the setting sun inspires her to break out of her downward spiral.

A movie in Rohmer's Comedies and Proverbs series, The Green Ray once again shows a Paris of startling boredom and drudgery, another city that wears its inhabitants down with day to day grind. One such victim is Delphine, a secretary who, like every other 9 to 5er, is looking forward to a long Summer break. Unfortunately not even such varied places as Cherbourg , the Alps or Biarritz can bring her out of a lonely slump though they do provide the viewer with proof that Rohmer sometimes does have feelings about the beautiful world around us. Unlike some of his other movies this concentrates on a single character rather than a group so what you get out of the movie hinges on whether Delphine comes across as sympathetic or just plain pathetic. Luckily Riviere and Rohmer, who both came up with the story and screenplay, create a completely believable woman in an intimate and detailed character study that anyone who has had the same feelings will identify with.

As you'd expect friends and family do their best to try and talk to Delphine about her problems but succeed in only making things worse. Rohmer uses long scenes of seemingly improvised and realistic dialogue to put Delphine in the centre of attention when she wants to be anything but. She always has to stand up for herself as groups of ‘normal' people think that all she needs is to be like them. All this does is push her further away and make her even less sure of herself, casting her out as some sort of freak because she doesn't eat meat or like boats. All this is in some respects painful as it leaves Delphine prone to tearful outbursts but at the same time it tenderly portrays a woman who has her own beliefs and will not compromise on any of them. A romantic at heart, she'll find love on her own terms and will not be forced because society demands she makes do. Some may find the plot a little wandering and that our heroine will never find what she's looking for but Rohmer provides one of his best payoffs and you feel that Delphine has won with a message to other hopeless romantics to wait it out, your time will come and when it does you have to feel ready to grab that chance.

Rohmer once again creates a lifelike and interesting character, shining through the murky drabness of everyday life. Other participants come and go and are for the most part forgettable, except perhaps the constantly semi-naked Swede, but this really is the story of one woman, delicately told. Male characters are especially sidelined and when they appear they seem to fit the Rohmer mould of swaggering sex fiends, maybe it's just the French. If you have the patience it will reward but having it as part of a series of comedies may be a misleading title. There is little room for humor and it's a shame that Rohmer's surrealist moments are kept to a minimum and go mostly unexplained.

Picture & Audio

The low quality of the picture is a let down here but in a way helps add a realistic home movie style to the film that grounds it in reality. The graininess does seem to get progressively worse though and is noticeable when the picture contains dark colours. Rohmer's style means little music so nothing really to blow your sound system away. Everything is crisp and clear however.

Extras

A trailer for The Green Ray that is pretty straightforward except no subtitles on this one so you can practice what French you have picked up from watching the movie.

Also included is a radio interview with Eric Rohmer which is by far the most interesting extra on this Arrow series of releases so far. Unfortunately it's all too brief (a lean 8 minutes) but it is cut together with bits of his past movies and The Green Ray and for the first time we get to hear the shy director for the first time. He talks of the music for The Green Ray as it is one of the few movies where he's employed a score that is not performed onscreen. He also points out some keen scenes in the movie as well as a quick look at colours used.

Rich Badley

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