A New Light Shines on ‘Full Moon in Paris’

In an era whem modern relationships are being examined and studied under a new light, both among millennials and their Generation X predecessors, the work of French director Eric Rohmer is perhaps more relevant than ever. With a regular focus on the youthful hesitancy towards commitment and consignment to the typical standards and structures of monogamous romantic or sexual relationships, Rohmer’s films astutely reflect a contemporary outlook, while at the same time reminding us that these thoughts, feelings, and apprehensions are nothing new.

With the new Blu-Ray re-release of Full Moon in Paris, the fourth film in Rohmer’s Comedies and Proverbs series, there’s no better time to look back at the work of one of the later pioneers of the French New Wave movement and see how his particular vision of youth and romance has proved both enduring and resonant with modern filmgoers and filmmakers.

Like all Rohmer’s Comedies and Proverbs works, the film is thematically inspired by a French Proverb, this one being: “a man who has two women loses his soul. But a man who has two homes loses his mind.” The main subject of the film is not a man, however, but a woman. The film details the life of a young socialite named Louise (Pascale Ogier), who finds herself struggling between a life in the French suburbs with her new, older boyfriend, Remi (Tcheky Karyo) and her desire for the freedom and excitement of a carefree, youthful life in Paris.

Making regular trips into the city to visit her friends, much to the possessive Remi’s dismay, Louise ultimately decides it would be best for her sanity, and her and Remi’s relationship, if she were to stop renting out her apartment in Paris and instead live in it from time to time. Despite her desire for a loving relationship, Louise explains to Remy she has never truly experienced living on her own, having been hitched in some form or another since she was fifteen. With that, Louise decides to split her time between living alone in Paris and with Remi in the suburbs, and both make a pact that unless either one finds someone they love more than the other, they will stay together.

The themes seen in Full Moon in Paris reflect those seen in the other Comedies and Proverbs films such as in the first work in the series, The Aviator’s Wife, the plot of which deals in part the struggle of a young woman, Anne, to define her independence and liberty as well as fulfill her desire for romance. “Marriage doesn’t mean living together,” she says to one of her boyfriends, Francois, exhibiting her apprehension about giving up herself for love.

Part of the comedy and drama of the films involves the characters’ attempts at a convenient organization of something as emotionally complicated and multifaceted as love, only for their feelings and suspicions to come back to haunt them once they’ve tried to do so. Whereas Louise believes she can experience the sensations of singledom and a relationship at once by living in two homes, she soon realizes how much her mutual desires conflict with one another.

“It’s tough living in two homes,” she says towards the film’s end to a stranger in a cafe, “when I’m in one, I want to be in the other.”

Like most of Rohmer’s films, Full Moon in Paris finds its strength in its dialogue and characters, making case studies out of the cast. Louise and her close friend, Octave both show a desire for settled, secure romance, while at the same time fearing wasting away their youth and independence. Octave, who is married, with a child, still insists on going out and carousing with Louise, even making repeated passes at her, to her repulsion.

Louise herself wishes for a secure romantic relationship, while at the same time resenting the ways in which it bogs her down. The fact that her boyfriend is an older man, who’s lacking her youthful restlessness, demonstrates her fear of growing older and becoming settled. In missing him, however, she realizes she may want more of such a life than she thought. And yet, in exploring his characters, Rohmer neither idolizes nor condemns them, but revels in their impulsiveness.

Through his characters, Rohmer deconstructs the always-complex and conflicting motives behind love and singledom, and how the natural human desires for independence and commitment cannot be found entirely in either.. The struggle for a balance between the two is one Rohmer saw then, and which viewers and filmmakers continue to see now. In Rohmer’s trademark, low-budget style, he demonstrates these dilemmas and conflicts in the simplest and most familiar of circumstances: in cafes and restaurants, at the train station, in apartments, where they occur in life, whether in company or alone.

The film serves as an illustrative bridge between the relationship concerns of modern youth and their (just so) elders. Though filmed in 1983, the wishes, feelings, and outlooks of Louise and Remi have a fascinating resonance with those of modern millennials and Generation X adults as both have come to terms with relationships, and how the requirements of such clash with personal wishes and aspirations. The influence of Rohmer on modern directors such as Noah Baumbach of Frances Ha and Mistress America fame just shows how much Rohmer’s encapsulation of the concerns of youth has endured into the modern era of cinema (Louise’s line “I don’t feel like an adult, and I’m not in a rush to be” could be the “mumblecore” rallying cry).

The restored quality of the blu-ray edition makes for a beautiful viewing experience, bringing to the film a clarity and veracity it’s never seen before, while still maintaining the look and feel of the film and its era. The disc is unfortunately light on special features, limited to a very brief interview with Pascale Ogier about the film, as well as the original and 2015 re-release trailers. Also included in the disc is a short booklet essay by film critic David Thompson, who analyzes the qualities and character of Louise in comparison to her actress, Pascale Ogier, who died tragically young at the age of 25.

Hopefully, with the releases of this classic, we’ll soon see a new release of the rest of the Comedies and Proverbs films. With the holidays coming up, it’s a good a time as any to remember how we think about love.