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15 August 2018: Suzanne's Career

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The Bakery Girl of Monceau
Eric Rohmer
1963 | 23 min | B/W | Digital
French with English subtitles

Simple, delicate, and jazzy, the first of the "Moral Tales" shows the stirrings of what would become the Eric Rohmer style: unfussy naturalistic shooting, ironic first-person voice-over, and the image of the “unknowable” woman. A law student (played by producer and future director Barbet Schroeder) with a roving eye and a large appetite stuffs himself full of sugar cookies and pastries daily in order to garner the attentions of the pretty brunette who works in a quaint Paris bakery. But is he truly interested, or is she just a sweet diversion?

Suzanne’s Career
Éric Rohmer
1963 | 55 min | B/W | Digital
French with English subtitles

Bertrand bides his time in a casually hostile and envious friendship with college chum Guillaume. But when ladies’ man Guillaume seems to be making a play for the spirited, independent Suzanne, Bertrand watches bitterly with disapproval and jealousy. With its ragged black-and-white 16mm photography and strong sense of 1960s Paris, Rohmer’s second “Moral Tale” is a wonderfully evocative portrait of youthful naiveté and the complicated bonds of friendship and romance.


Part of our season on Éric Rohmer