"I'm Not Very Operational In Life" (The Green Ray (DVD))

Member Name: venice105

Product:	The Green Ray (DVD)
Date:	26/03/07 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: thoughtful French film that is an adventure (of sorts!)

Disadvantages: though probably not one for action fans

Sometimes small events in life seem random but somehow come together. A few months ago I was in Florida, watching a sunset with my Mom. She mentioned this thing called the green ray, a pretty rare phenomenon that happens when the sun sets on a very clear day, when just before it sinks there is a flash of green on the horizon.

I presumed my mother must have seen this film Le Rayon Vert by Eric Rohmer which features the very mentioned green ray, but she insisted she had not. This was a film I had seen in a French film class at University (yes I skated my credits nicely thank you). It had captured my imagination and attention unlike any of the tedious, pretentious Truffaut type stuff - Jules et Jim put me to sleep. Eric Rohmer is sometimes said to be the Woody Allen of French cinema, so it's unsurprising I would have been drawn to his films I suppose, having generally always liked Allen.

So anyway I was reminded of this film, and lo and behold a few weeks later a Saturday paper (The Observer?, can't remember sorry) was giving away this very film. Kismet! I was quite excited to watch the film again for the first time in (eek) ten years.

So did it live up to my past enjoyment? Well, yes and no. Eric Rohmer's films are something that I think you have to be in a particular kind of mood for, sort of like those of Woody Allen. I can watch a Woody Allen film and be delighted by it, only to find on a different viewing I find his characters insufferably whiny and spoilt. But then it swings back again, the comedy of human frailty is something that is enough to lure one back I think.

Like Allen, Rohmer's films are character driven. Actually I would say they are even more so. Langorous conversations that seem to lead nowhere in people's back gardens are quite common. And yet they are not stuffy or boring, the angst is there, but there is often a lightness and humour towards his character's suffering that keeps his films from sinking under their own weight like those of more "serious" french directors. It is not, say, the oh la la whimsy of Amelie, but more a knowing, worldly humour.

I noticed this film was listed as a comedy. This might be a bit misleading for those looking for belly laughs or slapstick. It is a film about a depressed, lonely woman searching for something, who feels different from everyone but acknowledges she makes herself stand apart. She cries rather a lot, she walks aimlessly around beautiful French countryside, she is completely dissatisfied with everything but doesn't know how to change anything for the better.

Sounds a laugh riot, eh? Well it is hard to explain but it is simultaneously sad and funny. The main character, Delphine, is played by Marie Riviere, a fantastic actress who has starred in several of Rohmer's films. Like Woody Allen he seems to have a "stable" of actors who he works with repeatedly, and is known for his rapport with and ability to draw notable performances from his actors.

It is summer in Paris, and like most Parisians, Delphine has vacation time to take to escape the Paris heat. She is restless and indecisive about where she wants to go, however. She is mainly unhappy at the thought of taking a holiday alone. Her friends bombard her with questions about her love life, subjecting her to everything from psychoanalysis to astrological admonitions. Rohmer delicately explores the social unacceptability of being a single woman, the constant desire of those around to "fix" the person who is alone.

In Delphine's case it turns out she is perhaps not entirely alone, she seems to be carrying on some sort of relationship with her former fiance, which we only see in conversations she has on the telephone. When I first saw the film I was fairly convinced he was married but on second viewing found it less clear. Whatever the case, he is not ever with her as far as we see, and she keeps the relationship secret from her friends as she is clearly unhappy and not getting much out of it.

Delphine has many offers to go on holiday to various places, stay in friend's holiday homes, etc. (we should all be so lucky!), and for some reason on this most recent viewing her petulance did begin to irk me. I found her less sympathetic than I recalled on my previous viewing. But this is probably a good example of what makes Rohmer's films so watchable. He is unafraid to portray his characters in an unflattering light, they are all human and fallible. I do think too many rubbish sanitized Hollywood films can sort of brainwash you after a while, people are so rarely shown as anything but one dimensional these days, and so to have the protagonist of a film be a sulky, moaning madame can be jarring. But of course she is only reflecting what people are really like at times of self-pity, etc., and so I did stay interested in her character regardless.

At any rate, Delphine begins her holidays and joins a friend at her family's country/beach house. Again she is subjected to much scrutiny and is the odd man out. She does herself no favours by making rambling speeches about vegetarianism and generally being a bit of a moan. What I find fascinating in Rohmer's observances is their matter of fact-ness, their existential chats can come across as a bit bourgouis yes but also somehow seem no different from any other culture in essence.

Dissatisfied with being surrounded by couples and families, Delphine returns to Paris where again she hems and haws about what to do. She journeys to the mountains only to abruptly decide they are not for her. She then goes to the beach, Biarritz, where she spends a rather solitary holiday. In a key scene she overhears an elderly book club discussing a book by Jules Verne called The Green Ray, themed on the rare sunset phenomenon. A couple of the group have seen it, and try to describe its unique beauty. Delphine is transfixed by the story

This entire beach episode (and the film is episodic, but in a flowing kind of way) is perhaps the most telling of the film. I think Rohmer's handling of Delphine being alone is something that is an important theme in the film. It is a very difficult thing to portray with interest, we are so used to seeing people interracting on screen, but it's a way of life for many people to be alone. We see Delphine walking and going about her days by herself, and the way it is filmed simply, without trying to add any cute humour or "filler", may to some be boring but to me is fascinating and honestly done.

Delphine is terrified of being alone and yet in actuality she seems unbothered about it, it is more her perceptions of being lonely that scare her. Yes, at times she is sad as she is obviously unhappy with some aspect of her love life, but to me it never felt bleak or dreary. We all have days where we just want to cry, or are simply bored, and this observational way of capturing human loneliness is really exquisitely done. Marie Riviere as mentioned earlier is unafraid to appear weak or unflattering, that said she always has an elegance about her that is so annoyingly French and unattainable!

For Delphine she is dissatisfied with it but also unwilling to settle for anything less than what she is looking for, which is quite a brave and unusual thing, really. She meets a new friend, an exuberant (and topless in case some readers have tuned out by now!) Swedish girl who she has nothing in common with other than the fact they are both alone on holiday, and they meet a couple of guys. Aside from some of the most hilarious examples of dodgy eighties European fashion ever captured on film, these scenes are compelling to watch.

We see Delphine trying to force herself to be interested in being with these people when they are obviously nothing like her. Rohmer captures the very real sensation of feeling more alone when surrounded by people who you have nothing in common with; I think most people have experienced this at some stage so it is the little things like this that really make the film sparkle. Delphine finally chooses to be alone as opposed to going out with these people, something she has feared and avoided throughout the film, but realises is more fulfilling than being with people just for the sake of it.

In the final denouement, (forgive moi, final scenes!), the film takes a turn for the romantic and optimistic that somehow manages to ring true despite the film's earlier themes. After much soul searching Delphine seems to have lost her fear of being alone, to have come to some sort of acceptance. Which perhaps was what she needed all along to find whatever it is she was seeking. It might sound pat but Rohmer is a storyteller of great finesse and manages to inject a frisson of excitement right at the end that is very satisfying indeed. The possibility of happiness is opened again for Delphine after her dark period, and the viewer does find themself rooting for her. Le Rayon Vert, or The Green Ray, might be seen as an analogy for the film,as unquestionably it is something that one must be patient if one is ever to see it, but that has a unique and lovely finale worth seeking.

I find I still have a real fondness for this film despite what I can objectionally see would be weaknesses for some. I find it so brave and unique in many ways that I can only rate it five stars, and yet I should warn that it is not a film for everyone.Rohmer manages to hold the attention on seemingly unremarkable events with ease, which is a testament to his talent and why I have always enjoyed his films. Despite their meandering, somehow he always injects magic when you are least expecting it.


It was shot on 16mm and is a bit grainy in places but still captures the beauty of France very nicely. The subtitles I found easy to read.

This film can be purchased on Amazon for £6.97, but is in limited print. There are no extras on my version or that I can see on the one for sale on Amazon.

Also available is a boxset of eight of Rohmer's films, for £25.97 which I quite fancy!

This film is considered one of Rohmer's series of films themed on the four seasons, and is largely acknowledged as one of, if not his finest.

Le Rayon Vert (also known as Summer) (1986)

98 minutes long

directed by Eric Rohmer

Marie Rivière ... Delphine
Amira Chemakhi ... in Paris
Sylvie Richez ... in Paris
María Luisa García ... Manuella in Paris (as Lisa Hérédia)
Basile Gervaise ... in Paris
Virginie Gervaise ... in Paris
René Hernandez ... in Paris
Dominique Rivière ... in Paris
Claude Jullien ... in Paris
Alaric Jullien ... in Paris
Laetitia Riviere ... in Paris
Isabelle Rivière ... in Paris
Béatrice Romand ... Beatrice in Paris
Rosette ... Françoise in Paris
Marcello Pezzutto ... in Paris

Summary: Eric Rohmer's quiet masterpiece