As an end-of-summer treat, the Film Society of Lincoln Center offers up a comprehensive retrospective of Eric Rohmer, the founding father of the French New Wave.



The next best thing to spending the summer in France is diving into the oeuvre of the most quintessentially French of all filmmakers, Eric Rohmer. On the 60th anniversary of the French New Wave, this comprehensive retrospective includes every Rohmer feature film, the U.S. premiere of his 1980 TV film Catherine de Heilbronn, and in person appearances by key Rohmer collaborators. This program is a fitting tribute to the master Rohmer, who died in January at the age of 89.
 

The Collector

Rohmer came to prominence in the late ’60s and early ’70s with a series of films known as Six Moral Tales, four of which were made with his longtime collaborator, the brilliant cinematographer Néstor Almendros: The Collector, My Night At Maud’s, Claire’s Knee, and Chloe in the Afternoon.


My Night at Maud's

Also screening are The Comedies and Proverbs series, which includes The Aviator’s Wife, A Good Marriage, Full Moon in Paris, Summer, Boyfriends and Girlfriends, and Pauline at the Beach, for which Rohmer was named Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival. These films, and all of Rohmer’s prolific output, are carefully observed and keenly interested in morality, philosophy and the art of conversation—tres French.
 

Pauline at the Beach

A Tale of Springtime, A Tale of Winter, A Summer's Tale, and An Autumn Tale make up Rohmer’s last series, The Tales of the Four Seasons, released in the 1990s.  Rounding out the program are his period dramas, which include The Marquise of O and his late masterworks.


A Summer's Tale

As noted by James Quandt, “Rohmer was the supreme rationalist of the French New Wave, a 'metteur en ordre' as the French would say, and systems, order are very important to his aesthetic... This interplay of form and order on one hand, and unruly passion on the other, gives essential tension to his work.” This series is a unique opportunity to follow the creative arc of one of the true masters of cinema, not to be missed.

 

Claire's Knee

Learn more about the series, which features all access passes for $109-$129—a real bargain for 28 programs over the two weeks. You can also choose five film passes for $30-$50.