La Collectionneuse (1967)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

La Collectionneuse (1967) – E. Rohmer

There is something refreshing about a Rohmer picture, at least the ones I have seen. This is the third of his “Moral Tales” from the late ‘60s/early’70s that I’ve watched, along with My Night at Maud’s and Claire’s Knee.  As others have written, this earlier film shows Rohmer finding his way.  The characters engage in leisurely action and somewhat unproductive self-reflection.  They also ponder about sex and relationships and about why or why not they are having them.  In this case, our idle protagonist in his late 20s, Adrien (Patrick Bauchau), offers occasional narration about why he becomes absorbed with Haydée, a younger girl sharing an absent friend’s ocean-side villa with him (and another more nihilistic nonconformist, Daniel). They dub her the Collectionneuse, since she seems to be sleeping with different boys each night – but she says she is just searching.  Adrien himself seems rather lost, since he has a girlfriend away in London, so he shouldn’t really be playing (mental) games with Haydée – and perhaps he is wrong about her anyway.  So, the film is refreshing if you are surprised to see the talk talk talk (and corresponding sexual tension) of aimless young people in a beautifully shot European locale.