The Green Ray

Eric Rohmer, France, 1986, 99 minutes

The Green Ray is stunning for a variety of reasons but perhaps the most breathtaking is the fact that such a perfectly acted and crafted piece of cinema was almost entirely improvised.

A friend has backed out of a holiday to Greece and Delphine (Marie Riviere), like most of the French population, cannot bear the thought of spending the summer in the city. Holidaying alone her dreams of romantic love find no satisfactory materialisation as she is pestered by unsuitable suitors.

In the theme of the search for love Rohmer is on ground explored in other works like Claire's Knee, My Night With Maud, and more recently the Tales of the Four Seasons, and as usual carries off his study in human behaviour without sentimentality or obtrusive moral judgement.

The evocation of the solo holiday experience through an intelligent observation of the curious textures and resonances of foreign locations, signs of Rohmer's 'realistic' treatment, is fluidly integrated with the more romantic aspects of the story.

The title is taken from a Jules Verne novel and describes the last flash of sunlight as it disappears below the horizon. Supposedly, this green light makes those who observe it more aware of the feelings and perceptions of others.

Watching The Green Ray you might be forgiven for imagining that it came into existence without an intervening medium. It is simply the masterly work of an extremely accomplished director totally at ease with his craft.

Review by Iain Harral
Taken from EUFS Programme 1995-96