Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle / Frances Ha / In The Mood For Love / Pulp Fiction / Modern Times / Nayak / Before Sunrise / Paterson / Kapurush / Hiroshima Mon Amour
Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle (1987) dir. Éric Rohmer // Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) dir. Michel Gondry // Tsubasa Yamaguchi from Blue Period
Oh, to see without my eyes : the female gaze of tenderness
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (1987) / Anne With An E (2017) / Frances Ha (2012) / Carol (2015) / Parched (2015) / Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) / Jennifer's Body (2009) / Persona (1966)
"I raised my eyes then, and saw Doreen’s head silhouetted against the paling window, her blonde hair lit at the tips from behind like a halo of gold. Her face was in shadow, so I couldn’t make out her expression, but I felt a sort of expert tenderness flowing from the ends of her fingers."
Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle [Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle] (dir. Éric Rohmer, France, 1987)
My personal favourite of Rohmer’s films but one of his least cohesive. The film follows Reinette (Jöelle Miquel), who lives in the South of France, and Mirabelle (Jessica Forde), a visitor on a family holiday. Told in four vignettes, the film acts as a character study into the two girls and a think piece on how we communicate and how we connect. Lavishly shot with gorgeous long takes capturing the chaos of Paris and the tranquil beauty of the French countryside, the film floats by comfortingly.