Search - Boyfriends and Girlfriends on DVD

THE BEST ROHMER FILM

07/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the most insightful films on friendships and love relationships between men and women. It explores being infatuated with someone who you have nothing in common with and being friends with someone who you are not attracted to, and then deciding which is more important: physical attraction or common interests. James Joyce once said that a man and a woman could never be friends because of sex. This film proves him otherwise. I was thinking about this film for a few days after I saw it. Unlike most American movies, this film leaves you with something to think about. I highly recommend anyone to purchase or view this video."

GIVE ME YOURS AND I'LL GIVE YOU MINE

wdanthemanw | Geneva, Switzerland | 05/24/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Another title of the famous " comedies and proverbs " cinematographic cycle of Eric Rohmer is now available in the DVD standard. I don't know whether the literal translation of the french proverb - the friends of my friends are my friends - does ring a bell in english speaking amazonians, but the various scenes of BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS illustrates, in a Rohmerian way of course, this french proverb.So, let's admire one more time the subtle smartness of the dialogs and the actors who don't play a character but create a character by the sole charm of their ingenuousness, helped by a screenplay magistrally written.With Eric Rohmer,Woody Allen and a few others, I know for sure that I'm going to pass a great evening and that I won't regret later these two hours. With years passing by, time becomes more valuable and intellectual pleasure more selective. So let's hope for more Rohmer movies to come.A scene access, subtitles one can't remove and filmographies as bonus features. Images and sound surprisingly good for a Winstar release.A healthy DVD."

A mess of relationships and mistaken situations, that someho

M. B. Alcat | Los Angeles, California | 08/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Boyfriends and Girlfriends" (or in its original French title, "L'ami de mon amie", that is, "The friend of my friend") is the sixth film in Eric Rohmer's "Comedies and Proverbs" series, and my favourite so far. This movie is entertaining, and even somewhat funny at times, but it also makes you think about the nature of love, friendship and relationships, giving the spectator food for thought regarding those subjects.

The proverb on which ""Boyfriends and Girlfriends" is based is "Les amis de mes amis sont mes amis" ("the friends of my friends are my friends"). That proverb makes reference to the plot of this movie, something you will only understand fully once you finish watching it. However, I can give you some hints beforehand :)

The two main characters are Blanche (Emmanuelle Chaulet) and Leah (Sophie Renoir), two very different girls that strike a friendship. Blanche is shy, responsible and quiet, she has no boyfriend but likes Alexandre (François-Eric Gendron), an acquaintance of Leah's boyfriend, Fabien (Eric Viellard). Leah, on the other hand, is an outgoing and unconventional woman, accustomed to doing exactly what she feels like doing. She likes her boyfriend, but doesn't think their relationship will last, because they are too different.

Leah wants to help Blanche to begin a relationship with Alexandre, but Alexandre doesn't seem interested in Blanche, even though he pays a lot of attention to Leah, who happens to be exactly the kind of girl he is fond of. Blanche, on the other hand, slowly but steadily starts to realise that she has a lot in common with Fabien, who seems to like her a lot, even too much, if that is possible.

Do those hints seem interesting? Because, truth to be told, they lead to a mess of relationships and mistaken situations, something that somehow ends turning into an excellent movie, with plenty of the kind of dialogues that make Rohmer's films so unique. In my opinion, this is one of Rohmer's best films, and that is no small feat. Highly recommended!

Belen Alcat
"

Engaging comedy by Rohmer

Andres C. Salama | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 12/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A young woman, Blanche (the lovely Emmanuelle Chaulet), works in the City Hall of a trendy New Town near Paris (somewhat to his discredit, Rohmer's films tend to occur almost always in middle class and upper middle class milieus, seldom in working class neighborhoods and never in the immigrants building projects). Having recently arrived there, Blanche lives quite a lonely life, until she becomes friends with another young woman, Lea (Sophie Renoir), through which she met her boyfriend Fabien (Eric Viellard), and an acquaintance of the couple, Alexandre (François-Eric Gendron). Basically, the movie follows the time honored plot of exchange of relationships. A is with B, and C with D, but then A will start a liaison with D, which will make C jealous, and would start going with B in revenge and so forth. The title in French is a pun: the boyfriend of my friend would (could) become my boyfriend. Rohmer is known to be a political conservative, but here he is hardly a moralist, since he examines the sexual freedom of today's youth without condemning it. The movie may seem to some to be slow and talky, but these characters are believable and appealing (if somewhat shallow and a bit better looking than ordinary)."