A few days ago, I watched Rohmer's "Knee of Carat", and I sighed that Rohmer is really a master of human nature observation. His description is like a scalpel, cutting open the human body and seeing the naked inside.
"The Knee of Carat" is one of the "Six Moral Tales" series, 1970 film.
Rohmer's style is the same as before: the scenery is as beautiful as an oil painting, the clothes are brightly colored, the blue, green and red that he always likes, and the style is never outdated, which is very harmonious with the scenery. Characters chatter and analyze discussions, with long paragraphs of dialogue. About life and love, morality and desire, how good is Rohmer's psychological description of men and women.
Beatrice Romande, 18, played her sister Laura, who made her first appearance in Rohmer's "Knee of Carat" in 1970. I first met her in Autumn's Tale, the last time she worked with Rohmer, in 1998. From a middle-aged 46-year-old girl to an 18-year-old girl, I recognized her at a glance. Her expression, movement, tone of voice, and her bang-bang hairstyle seem to have not changed after 28 years. This unique woman, her role seems to be herself.
Rohmer seems to prefer women. The women in his films are cute and sincere, or wise and mature. Laura, this underage girl, has such a clear attitude towards love, she knows what she wants and how to do it, she is a smart opinionated girl. Carat is beautiful and sexy, and she is dedicated to pursuing love. Although she thinks she is a bit "silly and sweet", she is also cute and sincere. The male protagonist's friend, the female writer, is a bystander. She is mature and wise, understands everything, understands men, and sees through human nature.
And what about men? The male protagonist in Kela's Knee, in my opinion, is hypocritical. He wants to maintain his elegance and loftiness without escaping the temptation of desire. Laura liked him and he hugged and kissed back, what if Laura wasn't so clear about what she wanted? Then seeing the sexy Carat, his most primitive desires swelled, those subtle movements, and the conversation with the female writer, showed the pulling between his psychology, his desires and morality vividly. He finally smoothes the fold between desire and morality by stroking Carat's knee. The shot of stroking the knee is long and meaningful, "I thought it was an expression of desire, but she thought it was a comforting gesture, so I went quiet, mixed with an uncontrollable fear." Haha! interesting.
The ending of the film is particularly good. Through the female writer's point of view, the camera is stretched, Carla and her boyfriend are talking, they clear up the misunderstanding, and it all goes on...
Rohmer analyzes human nature so accurately, we are all just like this, that's it, his films are all depicted one by one. No moral judgment, just depiction and presentation, which is my favorite.
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