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Conte d'automne (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Ode to friendship, 11 October 2006
8/10
Author: jotix100 from New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

When we first meet Isabelle, she is discussing the upcoming wedding of her daughter. She wants to get the wine from her friend Magali, whom her daughter thinks doesn't care for her. Isabelle reassures her it's not so, then goes out to meet her friend. Magali, a wine maker and a widow, has a lot going for her, yet, she hasn't been able to attract a man to share her life after the death of her husband. As old friends from childhood, we can see that Isabelle and Magali look more like sisters. Magali, who has strong opinions, tells Isabelle she would never put a personal ad in the paper to meet a man.

Magali has nothing to fear, the well intentioned Isabelle, decides to pass herself for Magali when she places an ad in their local newspaper. It doesn't take long before Gerald, a handsome middle aged man, answers the advertisement. Isabelle describes herself as though she were Magali. After all, if there is anyone that knows her friend, it's Isabelle! Gerald likes what he hears, although Isabelle's type has never done anything for him.

In the meantime, Rosine, also a well intentioned admirer of Magali, who is her son's girlfriend, decides she would like to introduce her to Etienne, a local teacher. Things get a bit complicated when Etienne, who has a reputation for falling for his female students, and Rosine, see Gerald and Isabelle, as they are talking. Rosine, who thinks something is going on, asks Etienne to wait, so Isabelle doesn't see them.

Isabelle, who during her third meeting with Gerald, decides to tell him the truth, gets a weight lifted from her conscience. Gerald, who sees a picture of Magali, senses a kind soul and doesn't take it against Isabelle for meddling and deceiving him. She invites Gerald to attend the wedding, where Magali is also invited. Everything comes together at the wedding of Isabelle's daughter. The truth finally emerges as Magali realizes Isabelle's intentions to bring her and Gerald together. As with old friendships, Magali and Isabelle's will not be broken.

Eric Rohmer, who also wrote the screen play, finishes his cycle of films with a season as a theme. He created a work of great sensitivity as a friendship is put to a test. Sometimes even a well intentioned person's meddling in another's affair can suffer if taken the wrong way. There is no such danger here. Isabelle and Magali have so much in common that all will be forgotten. Isabelle, who is a happily married woman, wants her friend to find someone and be as happy as she is. The film is typical of the director. He presents the story straight, without any embellishments. The result is a lovely story about friendship.

Marie Riviere and Beatrice Romand, who appear as Isabelle and Magali, respectively, do excellent work for the director. Both actresses give a great account of their characters. Alain Libolt, who plays Gerald, makes an impression as the sophisticated Gerald, a man who longs for a love that has been denied to him. The others in the cast are also effective in the film.

Diane Baratier's cinematography captures that area of France lovingly. Mr. Rohmer, as usual doesn't believe in too much music. In here it comes at the end, at the wedding celebration. Eric Rohmer directed this sweet tale with great style.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Rohmer knows relationships, 21 November 2002
Author: Dennis Littrell (dalittrell@yahoo.com) from SoCal

And he knows how to write dialogue that is revealing, engaging and realistic, no small feat; and it is perhaps this talent more than anything else that has made Eric Rohmer the great director that he is. Here uses France's Cotes du Rhone wine country as a backdrop and symbol to help him explore not only autumn love, but the enduring friendship of two very different women. Isabelle (Maire Revière) is an elegant, tall, fair haired, blue-eyed haute bourgeoisie and her friend Magali (Beatrice Romand) is a short, earthy, dark-haired petite winemaker originally from Tunisia. Isabelle is happily married; Magali is divorced. They are both forty-something.

Isabelle's daughter is to be married. But the focus of the film is not on the bride and groom, but on the older generation, on Isabelle and Magali. In this way Rohmer combines the warm and enchantment of the celebration of autumn life, when the grapes are ripe for harvest, when love has its last chance, when Dionysus has his festival, when the heat of summer is over and we are ready to reflect and realize what is really important before it's too late.

Isabelle feels this strongly and wants her friend to find happiness before another winter comes. But Magali, because of the vineyard, doesn't have much of an opportunity to meet men, although she allows that she would like to. She is at that delicate age when one can try again or shrug it off. Isabelle intervenes by going to a dating service and placing an ad. She meets Gerald (Alain Libolt) and they have lunch (she insists on lunch) two or three times and she evaluates him. He is modest, somewhat suave and amazingly diplomatic. They share a certain attraction.

Meanwhile, Rosine (Alexia Portal) who is dating Magali's son and who is very close to Magali, perhaps more so that she is to her son, also wants to find a mate for Magali. She proposes her philosophy professor, Etienne (Didier Sandre), who is in fact sweet on her. He is the kind of man who, as Magali observes, likes them younger as he grows older. But maybe she will be the exception. Maybe he will finally grow up. Both arrange for their choices to meet Magali at the wedding.

As usual Rohmer explores humanity and how we relate to one another, and finds both love and a kind of sweetness that is liable to bring us to tears. The resolution of the film is followed by a most endearing anticlimax in which there is a dance of joy.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Unfolds in a spirit of playful adventure, 8 September 2006
9/10
Author: Howard Schumann from Vancouver, B.C.

It is autumn in the Rhone valley and grapes are being harvested. Magali (Beatrice Romand), the owner of a small vineyard inherited from her parents, lives alone and attends to her vineyard with the same care she gives to her frizzy black hair. She tells her best friend Isabelle (Marie Riviére), a librarian, that she has no interest in meeting men. "At my age," she says, "it's easier to find buried treasure." Isabelle, however, has her own ideas on the subject and takes out an ad in the local paper to find a suitable partner for her friend. Winner of won the award for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival, Eric Rohmer's An Autumn Tale, the final film in his Four Seasons series, is about matchmaking but this time it is about the need for companionship of older women with grown children.

Like many Rohmer films, a complex web of events and relationships arise from seemingly simple acts of friendship. Isabelle meets Gérald (Alain Libolt), a courteous and laid back salesman through her ad and goes to lunch with him a few times enjoying the idea that she can be still be seductive. After toying with the notion of keeping him for herself, she finally confesses that she is happily married and the whole seduction routine was simply a ploy to introduce him to her best friend Magali. The situation becomes further complicated by the desires of Rosine (Alexia Portal), her son Leo's (Stephane Damon) girlfriend, to set her up with her ex boyfriend Etienne (Diedier Sandre) a philosophy teacher with a penchant for younger women.

Unaware of the others matchmaking efforts, in a true Shakespearean twist, both Gerard and Etienne are invited to the wedding reception for Isabelle's daughter Emilia (Arelia Alcais) and the way it works itself out is delightful to observe. None of this of course unfolds according to plan but the beauty of the film is not the plot but the gradual development of complex three-dimensional characters through typically Rohmerian intelligent and witty dialogue. An Autumn Tale, though it contains some fanciful romantic intrigue, unfolds in a spirit of playful adventure, without guile or mean-spiritedness. Like the conclusion of Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man, we smile for no reason and Rohmer leaves us with a dance of joy and a final song: "If life is a journey, we hope your weather's fair, wild flowers are green and blue, travel safely, all of you".

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
My Enjoyable Introduction to Rohmer, 26 May 2001
8/10
Author: gbheron from Washington, DC

"Autumn Tale" is one of those movies where the viewer is asked to eavesdrop on normal people doing normal things. Europeans, notably the French, seem to do it best. It's a tricky approach to movie making; the margins for success are so narrow. Luckily, Mr. Rohmer, the director, is spot-on in this movie. The plot is a trifle; Isabelle and Magali are middle-aged women and livelong friends. Both are content with their families and careers. But Isabelle thinks that the widowed Magali needs a man, as does Magali's son's girlfriend. Independently, and unknowing to Magali and to each other, they conspire to set her up with a romantic interest. That's it. Mr. Rohmer, his screenwriter, and the top-notch actors brew up an enjoyable movie that's a treat to watch. I recommend it highly.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
not much to it, but it's made so well--who cares!?, 29 July 2005
8/10
Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

This was a little film with a simple plot and likable characters. In fact, Hollywood would learn a lot from films like this. It's not the dynamic plot, special effects or big name stars that often make a film exceptional, it's the writing and the acting! And this movie is written so lovingly and acted so honestly that I couldn't help but like it. This, despite the notable absence of the sensational elements in the movie, made for a wonderful film. Think about it--the basic plot is an older woman who owns her own small winery is lonely. So, her friend tries to find a man for her and so does her grown child. Talk about your simple plot! And yet it works! So if you are in the mood for something different, give this movie a try.

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6 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Eric Rhomer's gently sexy autumnal romp through the countryside of France, 5 May 2002
Author: stephenksmith from Hinterland, U.S.A.

"Autumn Tale" is a friendly, rambling french film. Beautiful visuals. And, as always, the french have a realistic, sanguine approach to female and male beauty, where the women of the film are not hollywood-ized, but their natural beauty is enhanced by the french countryside's autumanl splendor. One middle aged woman plays matchmaker for her friend, but does not tell her she's placed an ad in the personals. Someone else plays matchmaker, and then threads of story lines appear and vanish like possible lovers come and gone. Rhomer is not a natural storyteller, but this film is not terribly amibitious or weighty, but a golden, good-natured romp through french womens' psychees and sweet taut clothing. The female leads are compelling and edible, again, because the french love to present beauty through the lens of reality and possibilty. Tasteful lust. Realistic. Wild, dionescian hair on the earthmother, tilted uterus'd owner of the winery. Tres elegante is her friend living a bit vicariously through her man-hunt. Fun film but don't expect a great story here. But, oooo la la, what curves and sex have the women of middle-aged france.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A humanist critique of blind faith, 17 April 2009
8/10
Author: timmy_501 from United States

For this, the last of his Tales of the Four Seasons, Eric Rohmer chose the somewhat pastoral setting of a vineyard in French wine country. It's the story of a middle aged winemaker who wants to find a man but isn't willing to look for one; essentially she hopes to encounter the perfect man by chance but she severely limits the likelihood of a meeting because she rarely ventures away from her work/home. Her two friends (who always visit her, never vice versa) each try to set her up with a man. Her older friend attempts to deceive her into thinking the man she has picked is a chance encounter while her younger friend, who happens also be dating her son, makes her intentions clear.

Essentially what Rohmer is saying with this film is that passively expecting things to happen without working for them in any way is foolish. Faith is a key theme in Rohmer's work and this might be taken as a sort of critique of blind faith. When the winemaker is thrust into these romantic entanglements she reacts like a petulant child instead of a mature adult. The logical plans of her wordly friends are a sharp contrast to her own naivety. Still, this isn't some cold rejection of her character; in spite of her flaws the winemaker still has some admirable traits and things work out well for her. This is the difference between Rohmer and certain other directors who attempt to analyze human nature: he never lets his ideas overcome the realistic boundaries of human behavior and thus avoids the all too common pitfalls of misanthropy and didacticism.

Like almost every Rohmer film I've seen, An Autumn's Tale expresses some truths about human nature with a captivating realism. However, this film didn't really speak to me the way some of his films do because I ultimately don't have much in common with the winemaker. It's still well worth watching, especially for people who have more in common with the central character.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A Delightful Exploration of Well-Lived Characters, 20 December 2005
10/10
Author: noralee from Queens, NY

One spends a lovely two hours in the French wine country with Eric Rohmer's "Autumn Tale (Conte d'automne)," though this is probably a niche movie for women over 35 - a guy in the back snored through it.

This is a delightfully fun movie of character actors with interesting faces having mature conversations about relationships. I've been a Rohmer fan since at least "Claire's Knee" and at age 79 Rohmer uses his camera much more fluidly, though the conversations are no longer like "My Dinner with Andre."

All these full-bodied characters have lives and things to do and can't just sit around sipping wine, though they do that too. We are first introduced to the middle-aged characters through their grown kids' disdainful opinions. We get a nice range of relationships, old and young, for comparisons.

The climax of the movie is two introductory conversations between two couples and we actually hold our breaths at the outcomes, with one strained by the guy's roving eye and the other a natural coming together of mutual interests.

(originally written 7/25/1999)

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
To plot or not to plot, 28 August 2005
Author: Harry T. Yung (harry_tk_yung@yahoo.com) from Hong Kong

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

One of the original French New Wave directors, Eric Rohmer completed the last and most cheerful of his "Four Season" series "Autumn Tale" when he was 79 years young (at 84 he made "Triple Agent" and showed no sign of tiring).

One most interesting thing about "Autumn Tale" is that two professional critic said what appear to be opposite things about the place of plots in Rohmer's films, but actually meant the same thing. One said, "Plot is typically one of the least important elements of a Rohmer movie", while the other " His films are heavily, craftily plotted, and yet wear their plots so easily that we feel we're watching everyday life as it unfolds."

"Autumn Tale" plays almost like a stage play, with two multi-scene acts. The first act sets up the stage and develops the characters. The second act is a wedding party where two matchmaking efforts collide. The object is a widowed vineyard owner who tries to convince herself that she is happily occupied with her work. Scheme number one comes from a good friend (who is happily married and has a daughter who is getting married) who put up a "lonely heart" ad for her, interviews the applicant and tries to bring the two together at the wedding party. Scheme number two comes, brilliantly and unexpectedly, from her son's lovely girlfriend who is very fond of her. The candidate here is the young lady's ex, a professor who can "talk philosophy". This is a ridiculous idea in the son's view, "You're trying to make your ex my stepfather".

So much for the plot, which is described above in its bear minimum, without its various hints of subtleties. The beauty of the movie is really in the acting. Never over-directed, it allows the absolutely top-notch cast to take the audience into a happy two-hour party. At the end, you don't feel like having watched a movie with phoney characters, but rather like having spent an evening with some good friends, who are real people. We are charmed and delighted, as well as gently probed into thinking more about relationships between people, particularly how they click. In a way, it's quite similar to "Sideways" but comes even more naturally. Like "Sideways", it has an open ending which is the nearest you can come to a happy ending.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Wonderful sense of dialogue-realite, 25 November 2000
10/10
Author: jtur88 from Michigan

I wish I understood French better---I feel that this must have been a masterpiece of comfortable, unforced dialogue. Even the English subtitles left me feeling that these were real people having real conversations. OPne thing that usually turns me off in a film is the sense that a conversation is a forced device of exposition---like Deborah Kerr's soliloquies. Everyone pulled this off very well. They just chatted comfortably through the film, and the audience caught enough of it to follow the story. And a decent enough story it was, with the delights and disappointments very well played through body language.

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