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The Marquise of O
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by Fox Lorber
Sales Rank: 64700
Price: $19.98
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After Eric Rohmer completed his "Six Moral Tales," and before launching into the "Comedies and Proverbs," he tackled two projects very different from anything else in his career. In the first of these, <I>The Marquise of O</I>, based on the novel by Heinrich von Kleist, Rohmer leaves the young intellectuals of Paris for Italy during the Napoleonic wars. During the Russian invasion, the beautiful young marquise (Edith Clever) is saved from certain assault by a handsome and dashing count (Bruno Ganz). She spends the night guarded by her chivalrous savior, who returns months later to rather insistently court her. Only when he leaves does she discover that she is, unaccountably, pregnant. Rohmer's style is both more lush (shot in rich colors by Néstor Almendros) and less intimate than his previous romantic comedies, directed in painterly compositions at a removed distance. Unlike the self-obsessed young adults of his modern films, the count and the marquise act out of moral duty and social responsibility, and their actions reverberate through family and community. Yet this is still a Rohmer film, filled with carefully tooled dialogue (spoken in German) and informed by irony. The story of innocence and corruption, and the shades that lie within even the best of men, ends on a note of delicate forgiveness and understanding. Rohmer followed this with an even more unexpected stylistic experiment, the beautiful and beguiling <I>Perceval</I>. <I>--Sean Axmaker</I>
Viewer Reviews
I feel this is simply a perfect film. Every element works together to create a complete vision in intricate detail. This is a special joy for art lovers.
Before you see this film, look up the 1818 painting by Thomas Sully "Lady with a Harp: Eliza Ridgely." This painting was clearly a major image for the production team, it's simplicity and detail beautifully echoed throughout the production. Other images here equally echo other great works of art.
(note: DO NOT be put off by the title, this is not at all anyting to do with the infamous "story of O.")
The marquise, a widow with two children, feels that she is pregnant, but has no idea when or how it could have happened. This is a very small story, and a story that could be laughable or silly in other hands, but here, with Romer's attention to detail it is a beautiful rhendition of a small family matter in post French revolution Europe.
(I saw this after seeing Rohmer's later "L'anglaise et le duc" (The Lady and the Duke) which is also a great art film, technically innovative, where people actually walk within paintings in the outdoors scenes. That one, however is more talky and stagy and slower than this. I think this is the better film - although The Lady and the Duc is visually mesmerizing.)
In this, the locations, the rooms, the costumes, the sets, every detail is perfect. This is one film where you just want to stop the frame to look at a chair.
Then you add the magnificent, flawless acting of Edith Clever (who I had never seen before), Bruno Ganz, and the entire ensemble cast. This is a period film, but there is nothing showy or splashy about this story or film. There are no huge special effects or action, but the small internal family workings, and a mystery. A quiet story of contrition, forgiveness, honor and the changeable nature of each.
This now rivals Garbo's Camille as my favorite film!
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The Marquise of O
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