The actor William H. Macy made a point in a recent interview about how artists develop over time. They don’t try to get better, he said; they try to become simpler, more clear and true.
That observation could have been inspired by French filmmaker Eric Rohmer, the creator of such prized romantic comedies as My Night at Maud’s, Claire’s Knee and Pauline at the Beach.
With Autumn Tale, the 79-year-old writer-director proves that age has only purified his special ability to mine emotional truth from tiny moments with exquisite finesse.
Autumn Tale concerns itself first with the small moments shared by old friends. Isabelle (Marie Riviere) is a gracious, happily married bookstore owner preparing for her daughter’s wedding.
Magali (Beatrice Romand) is a crotchety divorcee who rarely sees her only son and immerses herself in the demands of her small Cotes du Rhone vineyard. She gives rein to her maternal instincts through her son’s girlfriend, Rosine (Alexia Portal). Rosine and Isabelle decide, separately but at the same time, that Magali needs a man; both decide to set her up in time for the wedding.
The younger woman, a proponent of recreational love affairs, recruits one of her own ex-lovers, a philosophy professor with a wandering eye. Isabelle, meanwhile, runs a personal ad in Magali’s name; she even dates the most promising prospect, Gerald (Alain Libolt). Finally, she confesses her scheme and arranges for Gerald to attend the wedding.
Misunderstandings ensue. So do confessions, snits, confusions, embarrassments, and moments of blinding, heart-stopping human connection.
All this activity unwinds at a sweet, unhurried pace that comes as one of the movie’s many surprises. The effect is both relaxing and engaging, because Mr. Rohmer is every bit as interested in how people get from point to point as in where they are going.
It is likewise a pleasure to take time with these characters because Mr. Rohmer has made them so endearingly real; he treats them with fatherly affection even when their behavior is downright childish.
On its surface, Autumn Tale is a simple movie. But its simplicity is merely a tool to reveal the sophisticated, playful, compassionate love story that its creator set out to tell.
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