The Aviator's Wife (1981)

Synopsis: In THE AVIATOR'S WIFE, a film exploring the complexity of young love, director Eric Rohmer casts Marie Rivière in the lead role of Anne, a twentysomething Parisian woman trying to sort out her... In THE AVIATOR'S WIFE, a film exploring the complexity of young love, director Eric Rohmer casts Marie Rivière in the lead role of Anne, a twentysomething Parisian woman trying to sort out her feelings about her past and present lovers. The film takes place on a weekday from seven in the morning to seven at night. Anne wakes up to a surprise visit from one of her lovers, Christian (Mathieu Carriere), a handsome, sophisticated married man who works as an aviator. He tells Anne that he has decided to end his affair with her because his wife is pregnant. Anne is crushed and escapes into her job, trying to avoid François (Philippe Marlaud), her other lover, who works nights and is therefore free to bother her all day long. François is a needy, immature, and impulsive 20-year-old student who can't compete with Christian. Fueled with jealousy, François spends the day spying on Christian as he innocently strolls through Paris's Butte Chaumont park. One of the five films in Rohmer's Comedies and Proverbs series, THE AVIATOR'S WIFE dwells not on fancy camerawork or a dramatic plotline. Instead, as is true of most of the director's oeuvre, the film focuses on dialogue, relationships, and emotion. The gem of this film is the gorgeous, willowy Rivière--also the star of Rohmer's SUMMER--whose lonely, melancholic performance is captivating. [More]

Starring: Marie Rivière, Anne-Laure Meury, Mathieu Carriere

Starring: Marie Rivière, Anne-Laure Meury, Mathieu Carriere

Director: Eric Rohmer

Director: Eric Rohmer

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