La Collectionneuse. The 1967 film by Éric Rohmer. Where do you even start with this film? Visually it is lush. Filmed in and around an old French house, complete with thick stone walls, marble top counters, wide-opened wooden shutters, and a tiled balcony accented with cane furniture. All situated just a wander away from the cool sea […]
Monday’s Muse: La Collectionneuse
La Collectionneuse. The 1967 film by Éric Rohmer. Where do you even start with this film? Visually it is lush. Filmed in and around an old French house, complete with thick stone walls, marble top counters, wide-opened wooden shutters, and a tiled balcony accented with cane furniture. All situated just a wander away from the cool sea in Saint-Tropez. The garden is dotted with large, established trees offering the perfect shady spots to loose an afternoon reading the books that have been left inside. Here, three characters; an art dealer, an artist and a young woman, collide, each with a slightly different agenda.
Then, there is Haydée Politoff. Cropped hair, a killer smirk and a wardrobe to boot. A bright (almost kermit) green knitted singlet, a metallic gold mini skirt, a selection of the best coloured (and shaped) bikinis any summer has ever seen, a blue gingham shirt dress (complete with said gingham belt), and a tight black tee tucked into black capri pants with belt combo. So. Good.
The scenes are long and un-cut, which makes you feel like you’re right there with them, you get to know them, how they respond to other characters, their silent pauses, their mannerisms. My favourite scene is the one where they decide to just all hang out and relax. They’ve been to the local markets with a basket full of fresh produce, they’re pottering, it feels natural and warm – like you imagine your summers to be. I also loved the introduction to the film, like a sort of human body study, visually forced to dissect over inches of flesh, notice the way their hair moves, hear slices of their conversation – each valid snippets of insight to the film’s three characters.
Some viewers will think the film is slow. It is, but I get the feeling that that’s the point. Celebrating the laboured pace of the height of summer, the characters are beyond being bored. They’ll remind you of how you fill up those days where you have nothing to do. You challenge yourself, you loose yourself, you take the time to question and to answer.
