Eric Rohmer is one of my favorite directors because he captures human drama without being dramatic at all. The characters talks, explains their emotions, tries to make themselves understood by others, but there is a constant misunderstanding that cannot be explained. There is a vague feeling of despair and the futility of communication in general. When I first saw Eric Rohmer's film it reminded me of one of those TV shows that tries to portray a normal day-to-day life to teach foreign language. I feel Eric Rohmer's specialty is in this focus on language and communication, not to portray a specific story, but to portray communication and thus leads us to a story "out side" of the communication.

This story is about a couple living together. Over and over, Louise tells Remi that she loves him but their lives are so different it's hard to imagine them staying together. She loves to party and he's a real home body. In fact, she loves living "the single life" so much, she's arranged to have an apartment for herself in Paris so she can stay there much of the time--all the while insisting that she loves Remi. He begs her to stay, but she insists on spending part of her life in town alone. Well, over time, she slowly begins to pull away from him--especially when she starts to suspect HE might be cheating on her (though SHE was the one who made all the arrangements to make it possible for her to do the cheating). So, since she assumes he's cheating, she picks a guy to sleep with--no love--just a one night stand. Well, she returns home to Remi only to discover that he, too, is having an affair but his is very serious and he asks her to leave. This seems to be a great example of the old saying "be careful what you ask for--you might just get it".The acting is good and the story pretty involving. I like it because nothing in the movie happens by accident--Louise sets everything in motion and then is surprised when the life she chose occurs. There's a lot of irony and some lessons about relationships here.PS--this is NOT a good film for kids. First, they would be bored by the story and because you get to see a pretty explicit view of Louise late in the film. Be forewarned.

I enjoy this film very much. Rohmer as a way to describe feelings, to describe how those feelings can get all twisted sometimes. Love and the numerous questions it brings is well put to light. Books, smart funny talks and more... Pascale Ogier is superb. As for Fabrice Luchini, he's one of my favorite actor. He performs so well in this kind of role. And the name "Octave" fits him like a glove!Out of 100, I gave it 81. That's good for *** out of ****.Seen at home, in Toronto, on January 14, 2003.

Maybe I've OD'd on Rohmer, just having looked at this film, "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend" and "The Aviator's Wife" (all on DVD)in a single week. This has the silly addition to Rohmer's other obsessions, of the idea that the full moon causes unusual behavior. Actually the girl behaves just the way the protagonists of the other films do when the phase of the moon is unspecified, that is, very indecisive. The main male character is nicer than the one in most of Rohmer's films.