Eric Rohmer - Comedies and Proverbs

Collection of French comedies from director Éric Rohmer. 'Pauline at the Beach' (1983) is about entwined holiday romances and the inconsistency and complexity of human relationships. Divorcée Marion (Arielle Dombasle) decides to spend the last few weeks of summer at the family beach house in Normandy.

She takes along her 15-year-old cousin Pauline (Amanda Langlet), a sensitive and fragile girl on the verge of womanhood. At the beach the two meet up with Pierre (Pascal Greggory), Marion's humourless and obsessive ex-lover, who offers to teach them windsurfing and introduces them to his friend Henri (Féodor Atkine). Marion soon falls for Henri, despite Pierre declaring his love for her.

Meanwhile, Pauline has quietly become involved with teenager Sylvain (Simon de la Brosse). In 'Full Moon in Paris' (1984) a young French woman (Pascale Ogier) leads a double life, but is not satisfied with either, flitting between her country retreat shared with her boyfriend (Tchéky Karyo) and her Parisian apartment where she is subject to the entreaties of a young suitor. 'The Aviator's Wife' (1982) follows the story of François and Anne (Philippe Marlaud and Marie Rivière).

François is in love with Anne but his nightshift job at the post office means they rarely get to spend time with each other. One day, he sees her leaving home with her former lover Christian (Mathieu Carrière), who had come to break up with her for good. Reeling from the news, Anne lets François fall prey to his jealous imagination.

In 'A Good Marriage' (1982) a middle-class French girl (Beatrice Romand) tires of her free and easy single lifestyle and decides she wants to get married. At a wedding reception she meets a suitable man and engineers a romance for the most part in her own head. 'My Girlfriend's Boyfriend' (1987) focuses on two girls who become attracted to the other girl's boyfriends but each is reluctant to admit their true feelings.

Finally, in 'The Green Ray' (1986), lonely Parisian Delphine (Rivière) is recovering from a break-up. With expectations of spending the summer in Greece, Delphine is let down by her travelling companion at the last moment but decides to go away on her own. After visiting Cherbourg, the Alps and the beach she meets a fellow female traveller who tries to cheer her up, but their friendship is short-lived as the two women clash over their differing views on love.

Delphine then continues to wander alone, searching for a partner, while trying desperately to hold on to her romantic ideals.