Eric Rohmer gives us a seaside meditation on love in 1983’s Pauline a la plage. Pauline, 15 and just coming into her femininity, joins her perfectly beautiful cousin Marion (Arielle Dombasle) late in the summer season, when their Normandy beach town is mostly empty. Pierre, an old love of Marion’s, Henri, for whom Marion quickly hungers, Louisette, who plays into the adult mix, and Sylvain, a boy for Pauline, are the only other players we meet.
Rohmer, who wrote and directed this film, puts each character into an identifiable space and shows us their real selves. Which turn out to be quite independent of their self-identification. He mutes the tempo, the lovely natural scenery, and even the emotional acting out so we are forced to focus on the words and actions. As Diana Lind said in her review, “This could potentially be boring, but fortunately the dialogue is provocative and the evolving plot is suspenseful.”
Recommended but you need to be in the right mood. You’ll know if this is your kind of movie after watching the first 15 minutes.
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