Le genou de Claire
Hahaha I love love love Rohmer. The way they talk, it’s so pointless, vapid and beautiful at the same time. I hear myself talking, and I see it with some irony and self-criticism there. I have been talking similar kinds of bullshit just a few years ago, and since whatever we say is not scripted, it must be even worse. I love Rohmer’s dialogue for that reason, for some reason I cannot help but find myself enjoying to listen to them. I don’t even care what exactly happens, I don’t care what their true feelings are for each other, I just want to hear them talk.
I suppose the simplest explanation is that all the characters are attracted to each other, and all of them pretend not to take it seriously, but actually they are quite serious. I find it ravissant.
I don’t think there is a Rohmer film which could possibly surpass “Ma nuit chez Maud”, because Maud is the best and most level-headed character he has ever created. But all of his films are strangely fun to watch, and “Le genou de Claire” is no exception. I am actually impressed with how they managed to have Claire only appear 45 minutes into the film. She is kind of pretty but I don’t like her obviously fake blonde hair, and while I absolutely see how one could feel attracted to her, but she looks strangely stupid (even more so than the other characters who at least can talk) and her legs are way too… thin? Or she just doesn’t talk enough, and I am not interested in female Rohmer characters who appear as alive as a nice-looking piece of furniture.
The difference between Claire and the piece of furniture is that Claire is a human being, or at least she is supposed to be. But the main character talks about how he thinks he has feels having a “right over her” which stems from his “desire for her” – it totally sounds like he wants to rape her. I mean, my goodness, they show her in her underwear.
The end of the story felt utterly unsatisfying for me, very much unlike “Ma nuit chez Maud”. I didn’t really like how Laura just conveniently disappears after Claire showed up, and the last scene with Claire is almost heart-breaking. Certainly Claire and Gilles are just idiotic, but they manage to obviously lie to each other within a minute of dialogue – wow. Strangely enough, I thought the Laura part of the film was much more interesting, because she was the much more entertaining girl.