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Chloe in the Afternoon

Play trailer Poster for Chloe in the Afternoon R Released Sep 29, 1972 1h 33m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Eric Rohmer's acclaimed meditation on marital fidelity follows Frederic (Bernard Verley), a successful Parisian lawyer who is happily married to Helene (Francoise Verley), a schoolteacher. Though Frederic daydreams about affairs with other women, he doesn't come close to acting on such thoughts until he runs into Chloe (Zouzou), a beautiful old acquaintance. Tempted by the vibrant Chloe, Frederic is torn between impulsive lust and his love for his wife.

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Chloe in the Afternoon

Chloe in the Afternoon

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Critics Consensus

Eric Rohmer's Chloe in the Afternoon doesn't need sparkly cinematic dross to discover unspoken, universal truths about relationships and love through filmmaking.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael New Yorker What is frequently described as rigor and austerity may be no more than polished aridity, polished pettiness. [Rohmer is] a clever traditionalist in a medium in which bourgeois worldliness can pass for much more. Sep 21, 2023 Full Review Time Out A wonderfully cool and lucid exposition of the twists and turns of its hero's thoughts. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times What makes Rohmer's films so sparkling and intelligent is the way in which he watches his characters. Nothing escapes him, and he uses the angle of a glance, the tilt of a head, the precise set of a mouth, in order to create wonderfully complex characters Rated: 4/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Romola Costantino The Sun-Herald (Australia) [A] stylish, delicately handled and compelling film. Sep 24, 2024 Full Review Judith Crist Texas Monthly Rohmer's gift is in his subtle differentiation between the cliches of relationships and the eternal verities that are at the heart of those cliches. Jun 11, 2020 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Intoxicating. Rated: 3.5/4 May 23, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Noel P My favorite French film. This film should be an example in film schools (especially today) on how to teach a moral lesson to your audience without being heavy handed. For a film full of passion and temptation, it paradoxically celebrated marriage and fidelity -- which I imagine would be very difficult to pull off. A masterpiece and one of my favorite romances. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Selfish and selfless acts amongst characters who think in fantasy without a thought for consequences; slowly draws you in Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review s r Very French film about mistresses and love. I don't feel compelled to see it again besides to view it as a period piece with some good fashion from the French 70s. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The last of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales finds Frederic, a young businessman, reflecting on his life after three years of marriage. His internal thoughts are narrated in voiceover. He thinks about women and his attraction to them in the context of his fidelity to his wife which he is proud to honour. They have a very young daughter as well. Frederic's life has become bourgeois but he sees himself as a sort of urban cat, prowling around in the afternoons. When an old acquaintance, Chloe, returns after a six-year absence overseas, she provokes him and challenges his views about relationships. She is rootless, flitting from job to job and from man to man, clearly independent and willful and sexy for that reason. Frederic finds himself drawn to her and they set up rendezvouses on certain afternoons, physically chaste though emotionally all over the place. Rohmer is good at getting into his male characters' psyches, undermining their confidence and throwing moral dilemmas at them. We don't really get inside the women but they are treated as mysterious and special. Rohmer's films are naturally all talk but they can be exhilarating and refreshing. We don't know where Frederic is heading but the conclusion of the film feels to be his choice, made freely and autonomously and Rohmer respects it (as he respects his audience and his vision). Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2015/09/eric-rohmers-six-moral-tales.html Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member The finale of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales series is an intriguing film about love and temptation, and its strongest card is its refusal to give in to viewers' expectations. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Chloe in the Afternoon

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Movie Info

Synopsis Eric Rohmer's acclaimed meditation on marital fidelity follows Frederic (Bernard Verley), a successful Parisian lawyer who is happily married to Helene (Francoise Verley), a schoolteacher. Though Frederic daydreams about affairs with other women, he doesn't come close to acting on such thoughts until he runs into Chloe (Zouzou), a beautiful old acquaintance. Tempted by the vibrant Chloe, Frederic is torn between impulsive lust and his love for his wife.
Director
Éric Rohmer
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Les Films du Losange
Rating
R
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 29, 1972, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 27, 2017
Runtime
1h 33m
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