`AUTUMN' A SEASON OF CONTENTMENT.Byline: Stephen Holden The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times One way to look at the films of Eric Rohmer, in which assorted combinations of attractive, cultivated Europeans rearrange their lives amid much exquisitely verbalized soul-searching, is to see them as sophisticated fairy tales This is a list of fairy tales, the dates of their earliest known printed version, the author and, if known, the collection of tales in which it was published. It should be noted, however, that not all stories listed below would be categorized as fairy tales by a strict definition . Shakespearean comedies for the modern professional class, they presuppose pre·sup·pose tr.v. pre·sup·posed, pre·sup·pos·ing, pre·sup·pos·es 1. To believe or suppose in advance. 2. To require or involve necessarily as an antecedent condition. See Synonyms at presume. a highly civilized code of behavior Noun 1. code of behavior - a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group code of conduct and advanced educational level that in a Rohmer film could be taken as universal givens. Despite whatever blows fate may deliver the characters, a divine plan usually emerges that overrides earlier setbacks. Rational decision-making pays off, as does trusting one's deepest intuitions. True love - or the closest thing to it that one can find in this life - is the ultimate reward, but it can't be tasted until every moral quandary has been aired and resolved. ``A Tale of Autumn,'' the final chapter in the director's ``Tales of the Four Seasons,'' is as sublimely warming an experience as the autumn sun that shines benevolently on the vineyard owned by the film's central character, Magali (Beatrice Romond). A wiry wir·y adj. 1. Resembling wire in form or quality, especially in stiffness. 2. Sinewy and lean. 3. Filiform and hard. Used of a pulse. , vital woman in her mid-40s with snapping eyes and an unruly bush of hair, Magali, a widowed mother of two grown children, is content with her life except for one thing. When prodded by her married best friend, Isabelle (Marie Riviere ri·vière n. A necklace of precious stones, generally set in one strand. [French rivière (de diamants), river (of diamonds), from Old French rivere, from Vulgar Latin ), Magali admits that she longs for a relationship with the right man but believes it is too late for her to find love. Magali brings all the usual arguments to rationalize her resignation. Potentially eligible partners would want younger women, she insists. And living in the country (in the gorgeous Rhone Valley region of southern France), she also is isolated. When Isabelle suggests placing a personal ad, Magali is revolted by the idea. ``A Tale of Autumn'' follows the confusions that ensue when two of Magali's friends decide to play matchmaker Matchmaker - A language for specifying and automating the generation of multi-lingual interprocess communication interfaces. MIG is an implementation of a subset of Matchmaker. . Isabelle places a personal ad in Magali's behalf, and when a courtly, eminently suitable salesman named Gerald (Alain Libolt) responds, she interviews him extensively before revealing that she is merely acting as an unbidden un·bid·den also un·bid adj. Not invited, asked, or requested; unasked: unbidden guests; comments unbid and unwelcome. liaison to someone else. Meanwhile, Magali's son's girlfriend, Rosine (Alexia alexia /alex·ia/ (ah-lek´se-ah) a form of receptive aphasia in which ability to understand written language is lost as a result of a cerebral lesion. Portal), whom Magali has taken under her wing, proposes to fix the older woman up with her ex-lover and former professor, Etienne (Didier Sandre). Both prospective partners are coaxed into attending the wedding of Isabelle's daughter. The complications that follow at the outdoor reception might be described as Rohmer's elegantly psychologized and sublimated sub·li·mate v. sub·li·mat·ed, sub·li·mat·ing, sub·li·mates v.tr. 1. Chemistry To cause (a solid or gas) to change state without becoming a liquid. 2. a. version of a classic French farce. It isn't the story but the telling that makes ``A Tale of Autumn'' such a rich, emotionally satisfying experience. As the five main characters reveal their fantasies and fears, each emerges as an astoundingly complex and fully rounded human being. By the end of the film, Romond's Magali, an earthy, high-strung woman with an arrogance that masks an underlying shyness, has come so alive that you almost see her as an old friend. The film's plot, like that of other Rohmer films, is mathematically schematic. Even before the equation has been balanced, except for a twist here and there, you know where the story will go. But the characters' depth, humanity and likability make the expected payoff feel earned. ``A Tale of Autumn'' has its labored moments. Especially when the talk turns to grapes and late vintages, it is pressing an obvious metaphor a bit too aggressively. But the movie evokes such a sensuous atmosphere - bird song, wind, and light and shadow that delineate the season and time of day with an astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. precision - that you are all but transported into Magali's fields, where this year's grapes promise to yield an especially fine vintage. THE FACTS The film: ``A Tale of Autumn'' (PG; adult themes). The stars: Marie Riviere, Beatrice Romand, Alain Libolt, Didier Sandre and Alexia Portal. Behind the scenes: Written and directed by Eric Rohmer; in French, with English subtitles. Produced by Margaret Menegoz. Released by October Films. Running time: One hour, 50 minutes. Playing: Laemmle's Royal in West Los Angeles
Our rating: Three stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: In ``A Tale of Autumn,'' Marie Riviere, left, Alain Libolt and Beatrice Romand reveal their fantasies and fears of relationships. |
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