Genou de Claire [Claire’s Knee] (1970)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.wsws.org/)

The usual bourgeois self-indulgence from Eric Rohmer with the surreal twist of a man in love with a girl's knee.

There is too much talking and not enough action from emotionally-stunted characters who focus solely on their own lives but their destinies are not within their overall control. They prefer to be self-conscious rather than self-aware and so live within their own chosen psychological limitations - as if they were metaphysical ones.

Like the limited outlook and world-view of a Jane Austen, this director describes his characters to perfection but never sets them in a wider context, so that his work never rises above miniaturist brilliance. A pity, since his performers are uniformly excellent, and he especially revels in the erotic potential of the mere existence of the female.

Copyright © 2011 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.