Chronologically, this is the third (and in my view the best) of Eric Rohmer’s series, which he called “Six Moral Tales.”
The other segments, “Claire’s Knee” in 1970 and “Chloe in the Afternoon” in 1972, are also sharply written and acted.
The movie may be too verbose and cerebral, since it’s all talk about love, morality, religion, etc.
In this tale, Jean-Louis Trintignant, the most popular European actor of the late 1960s (he was also in “Z” in the same year) plays a devout Catholic who plans to marry a nice girl (Marie-Christine Barrault), he had met at his church.
But he’s also smitten with another girl, a free thinker named Maude (Francoise Fabian).
Oscar Nominations: 2
Story and Screenplay (Adapted): Eric Rohmer
Foreign Language Film
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
The winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar was Costa-Gavras’ political thriller Z.
The Adapted Screenplay Oscar went to Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North for “Patton,” which also won Best Picture, Director, and Actor.
