Claire's Knee (Le genou de Claire)1971
Claire's Knee (Le genou de Claire) (1971)
Claire's Knee (Le genou de Claire) Photos
Movie Info
Cast
as Jerome
as Aurora, the novelist
as Laura
as Claire
as Mme. Walter
as Gilles
as Vincent
Critic Reviews for Claire's Knee (Le genou de Claire)
All Critics (21) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (1) | DVD (1)
The film was rapturously received as a cinematic equivalent to Jane Austen at the time of its original release.
Claire's Knee is a movie for people who still read good novels, care about good films, and think occasionally.
Comes very close to being a perfect movie of its kind.
The penultimate entry in Eric Rohmer's series of Six Moral Tales, and the loveliest, most crystalline of the lot.
A constellation of flirtations, glances, smiles and fibs pulled together by Rohmer with an exquisite Lubitsch deadpan, his camera as warm as sunlight and cutting like a scalpel
[VIDEO ESSAY] As much a French cultural touchstone as a charming and nuanced picture of desire "Claire's Knee" is Eric Rohmer's best-known film.
Audience Reviews for Claire's Knee (Le genou de Claire)
Eric Rohmer. I get it, I like his sensibilities, and I think he is an important filmmaker. But "Claire's Knee" is just grueling for me. I found nothing to latch onto. I though the way the characters spoke was the farthest thing from reality. I also don't mind slow films, but this was slow for almost no reason. I know people will jump to disagree with me, but the story, while simple, could have used just a tad bit of flare- at least from the actors. I don't know, nothing about the film struck me as engaging or emotional. I understood the message perfectly fine, but to make it meaningful I needed a touchstone of some sort and it was sorely missing.
Super Reviewer
Extremely poetic,disturbing to the sense of tripping controversies,aye,we do realize censorship committees the judgmental issue of age difference and there is passion between....almost all in this film.It remains a gem of spiritual liberty though and you better get some immorality lesson.
Super Reviewer
It was okay. I fell asleep watching it once and had to finish it a different day. It was sorta like a French "Lolita" without the sex, and much less interesting.
Super Reviewer
Claire's Knee (Le genou de Claire) Quotes
| Jerome: | I thought to myself that every woman has her most vulnerable point. For some, it's the nape of the neck, the waist, the hands. For Claire, in that position, in that light, it was her knee. It was the magnetic pole of my desire, the precise point where, if I could pursue this desire, I'd have placed my hand. And right there is where her boyfriend had his hand. In all his innocence and insipidness. That hand was above all insipid, and that shocked me. |
| Aurora: | It's very simple. Place your hand on her knee. That will exorcise the desire. |
| Jerome: | It's not simple at all. That's the hardest thing to do. A caress has to be accepted. It would be easier to seduce her. |
| Aurora: | I find all men attractive. That's why I can't pick one. Why one and not another? I need a reason to choose one specific man. Since I can't have them all, I prefer to do without any. |
| Jerome: | That's quite unnatural, and quite immoral. |
| Aurora: | Hardly immoral, since it keeps me chaste. |
| Jerome: | The heroes of a story are always blindfolded. Otherwise they'd attempt nothing. The plot would stall. |
| Aurora: | Actually, everyone wears a blindfold.Or at least blinders. |
| Jerome: | Except you, since you write. |
| Aurora: | Yes, writing forces me to keep my eyes open. |