Giulia&TheGreenNailPinky: Adieu Eric Rohmer

The March copy of Sight&Sound arrived at my door a few days ago. I was in a rush and I just put it in my bag. Later in the tube, I opened it and on the cover I read:

'Remembering Kathleen Byron,

David Carradine, John Hughes,

Eric Rohmer and Robin Wood'

I was aware of the death of most of them but Eric Rohmer. I wrote my final dissertation for my BA about him. I spent 11 months of my life watching his films again and again. Reading about him and his works. All the essays and books he wrote as Eric Rohmer or under a different name (Gilbert Cordier) have been on my desk. I sank into his love for literature and I shared it with him. Since then I felt kind of special for being a member of his small but lucky audience.

While writing my thesis (between October 2007 and September 2008) I was stupidly checking almost on a daily basis if he was still alive. It can sound weird and disrespectful but I was aware he was 88 at the time. He edited Cahiers du cinema from 1957 to 1963 and he was older than his famous colleagues.. then I went to the cinema for the premiere of Les Amours d' Astrée et de Céladon and I felt he was fine and as great as always with his unique style. So I stopped checking about him so often. That is why, when I read about his death on an English magazine 6 days ago, I was shocked. I felt like I forgot his films, forgot about his talent. He inspired me immensely while I was writing my thesis. Studying how he adapted Chretien de Troyes' Parsifal for the silver screen in his Perceval Le Gallois, I could appreciate wholly his sensitivity and sophistication. I am now willing to see all his movies again. That's my personal celebration of Eric Rohmer. Born in 1920 it woud have been 90 the next 4th of April. That's a big loss for cinema but life runs in cycles and hopefully we have lot of material to celebrate him and some acolytes around the world. One of the most assiduous is surely the Korean Hong Sang-soo.

If you are interested in his work that's the list of the movies he directed. The titles are links to the page on IMBD related to the movie and they're chronologically listed (from the most recent to the oldest one). I marked * my favourites.

Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon (2007) *

Le canape' rouge (2005)

Triple agent (2004)

L'anglaise et le duc (2001) *

Conte d'automne (1998)

Conte d'été (1996) *

Les rendez-vous de Paris (1995) *

L'arbre, le maire et la médiathèque (1993)

Conte d'hiver (1992)

Conte de printemps (1990) *

Les jeux de société (1989) (TV)

L'ami de mon amie (1987) *