Search - Pauline at the Beach on DVD

Delightful Pauline

Mr Peter G George | Ellon, Aberdeenshire United Kingdom | 03/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pauline at the Beach is a charming, funny and wise film from Eric Rohmer. It is the story of pretty teenager Pauline who is staying with her older cousin Marion on the French coast. In the course of this holiday they interact with three men, which leads to romance for both of them and to various complications. The story is engaging, with fully developed believable characters. The acting is superb, especially that of Amanda Langlet as Pauline. Rohmer shows once more that he remains in tune with youth and can direct a performance from a teenager better than most. The film is part of Rohmer's comedies and proverbs series, which makes it a pity that the film's proverb by Chretien de Troyes is left untranslated on the DVD. This proverb ("Qui trop parole, il se mesfait") means roughly that he who talks too much damages himself. This is an interesting comment on the film, both in terms of what happens and in terms of Rohmer's style of filmmaking. As in all Rohmer films there is a lot of talk with characters endlessly discussing the nature of love and their relationships. Rohmer seems to be saying that it is this talk which leads to the problems they encounter, for by intellectualising they fail to talk honestly and directly. Rohmer is not for everyone. Even fans of French film may find his films difficult. But he is a director who is well worth getting to know and Pauline at the Beach is a very good introduction to his work. It is light and beautiful to look at with stunning photography of French beaches. This is a fine DVD with a good print shown in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The sound is clear and audible and the dialogue, as far as I could tell, is translated well. For those with better French than mine, the subtitles are removable. The only extra is a trailer without subtitles. For Rohmer fans this DVD is essential, for those who have yet to discover him, my advice is to give Pauline a try."

A Comedy of Romantic Jostling at the Beach

interested_observer | San Francisco, CA USA | 03/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Pauline at the Beach" is a fun comedy of errors set along the beaches of western Normandy in the early 1980s.Pauline (played by Amanda Langlet) is a fifteen-year old spending part of her summer vacation with her gorgeous, divorced cousin Marion (played by Arielle Dombasle) at a home loaned by Marion's brother. Pauline wants to make friends and has never been in love before. Marion believes love erupts passionately and spontaneously. Both are in for adventures.Graduate student Pierre (played by Pascal Greggory) still carries a torch for Marion from the days before she married five years ago. Meanwhile, he wants to teach Pauline and Marion wind surfing. Divorced ethnologist Henri (played by Feodor Atkine) shows up and attracts Marion. Sylvain (played by Simon de La Brosse) is a local guy Pauline's age who takes an interest in her. There is a strolling vendor of peanuts and candy, Louisette, who is extra friendly with Henri, but is there a connection with Sylvain too? Just how well do you have to know someone before falling in love? All the makings of conflict and misunderstanding are there. Both Pauline and Marion learn to manage their interpretations and feelings.The movie moves along nicely, although there are some reasonably interesting stops for discussion of the values and expectations of falling in love. The actors all do a good job, especially Dombasle and de La Brosse. Marion and Louisette have nude scenes; all characters have bathing suit scenes. The photography and direction are fine.The main negative is the lack of a commentary track or other features, other than the original trailer and a few other MGM trailers. There is no paper insert with chapter titles. The movie is in monaural French with optional English, French, or Spanish subtitles."

Bravo MGM!

Greg | Lafayette Hill, PA United States | 03/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An absolutely perfect job. The pristine transfer shows this film in a comepletely new light. The colors are vibrant, lending a real "summer" feel to the movie. There is not a hint of dirt or damage to the film. It looks like a new transfer was struck for this DVD. You have the choice of English, French, and Spanish subtitles which could also be shut off completely if desired. After many poor DVD transfers of Rohmer films, we finally have one that is worthy of such a fine director. Let's hope his other titles eventually get this same treatment."

I loved this movie...

mike | New York | 05/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rare is a movie where you can get into the head of a character who acts like a real person. I would love to find more movies like this. This movie is about a teenager and her adult cousin who vacation at the beach, and about the people they meet and relationships they form. And for those who did enjoy this movie, check out "A Summer's Tale". You will be able to see Pauline (the teenager in this movie) 13 years older. Rohmer is a fantastic director who looks at people, and lets them display their humanity. I highly reccomend this movie for people of any age who are interested in the interpersonal dynamics between people. I also reccomend this movie because it stands up to repeated veiwings. With each additional viewing, more can be discovered about the characters."