A Tale of Autumn (1998)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Boring

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of those French films where people walk through vineyards talking about love. Funny how you only find these relaxed chatty French people in movies yet the real Paris is as high strung and angry as New York. Maybe they act like this when they go to the country on weekends.Don't let this laid back act fool you, though. A stereotypical French professor lusting after his teenager students and lovesick middle aged women without anything to do is what passes for love here. The younger pretty people are so one dimensionally uninteresting they may as well be pets. It would appear that vineyard farming near a nuclear power plant is both glamorous and apparently not very time consuming. This leaves our characters plenty of time to wax melancholy about "l'amour".Among this films many conceits is the lack of a hairbrush or a comb for miles. Shaggy wind blown hair and weeds are the metaphors here. Give me a break!

Autumn comes round every year and so, it seems, does Eric Rohmer. Essentially we're watching paint dry here and taking our time about it yet somehow Rohmer contrives to make watching paint dry watchable. The plot, if you can call it that, involves Marie Riviere's Isabelle contriving to find a man for her long-time friend Beatrice Romand (Magali) whilst engaged on the same mission is the girl friend of Magali's son who has in mind a specific swain, her own ex-tutor and lover, Etienne (Didier Sandre) who teaches philosophy on the side, his main occupation being the seduction of his young female students. That's about it. There's some pleasant shots of the South of France, some eating, drinking, conversation and before you know it it's fade out time.

"Autumn Tale" is a friendly, rambling french film. Beautiful visuals. And, as always, the french have a realistic, sanguine approach to female and male beauty, where the women of the film are not hollywood-ized, but their natural beauty is enhanced by the french countryside's autumanl splendor. One middle aged woman plays matchmaker for her friend, but does not tell her she's placed an ad in the personals. Someone else plays matchmaker, and then threads of story lines appear and vanish like possible lovers come and gone. Rhomer is not a natural storyteller, but this film is not terribly amibitious or weighty, but a golden, good-natured romp through french womens' psychees and sweet taut clothing. The female leads are compelling and edible, again, because the french love to present beauty through the lens of reality and possibilty. Tasteful lust. Realistic. Wild, dionescian hair on the earthmother, tilted uterus'd owner of the winery. Tres elegante is her friend living a bit vicariously through her man-hunt. Fun film but don't expect a great story here. But, oooo la la, what curves and sex have the women of middle-aged france.

If you are a fan of Eric Rohmer's cinema, as I am, then you will love this film: it's smooth, utterly believable, and the characters force you to sympathize with them. I watched it (on video) without once ever being aware of the passing of time.Of course, there are no special effects, snazzy photography, or big questions about the afterlife addressed.