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| DIRECTED BY |
| Eric Rohmer
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| STARRING |
| Pascale Ogier |
| Tch�ky Karyo |
| Fabrice Luchini |
| Virginie Th�venet |
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If - with this film - director Eric Rohmer has remained true to his initial French New Wave theories and doctrines, then I�m still very ambivalent about the French New Wave. There�s much to admire about the characterizations in this film - that is, if you can discipline yourself well enough to pay attention to the whole thing without dozing off. But, indeed, it�s completely devoid of any stylization whatsoever - with the possible exception of a musical montage involving the full moon late into the film.
I was humored by the carelessness with which the startlingly simple opening title sequence was put together and immediately prepared myself for a snoozer, but the film somehow has an appealing charm to it. It�s very verbose, however, and the fact that the subtitles sometimes move along at an unusually quick pace will add to many-a-viewer�s frustration. Rohmer certainly could have made some compromises here in order to get to what he intended to get to more quickly, but cinephiles who enjoy films that pretty much reject stylization altogether in order to fully concentrate on its characters may enjoy �Full Moon in Paris.�
What I found interesting about this film was mainly the character of Louise, who � for some inexplicable reason � continues to convince herself that she�s in love with Remi (Karyo, in a memorably malicious-yet-sentimental performance) even when she�s going through all of the symptoms of lost love, including infidelity. One could possibly call it a Woody Allen film without humor, which isn�t exactly a bad thing. I was particularly impressed by one very effective and well-acted scene near the end, when both Remy and Louise make their respective confessions.
The final message could be interpreted in a number of ways. It could mean that true love is often neglected even while being right under one�s own nose, it could mean that when one neglects their love in any form it will ultimately fade away, or it could simply mean that love is incomprehensible, nonsensical, and will always lead to heartbreak. Either way - the film doesn�t quite leave you with a warm feeling while not being completely bleak either - and perhaps that�s what makes it seem so real.
