Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Nadja à Paris

I found the short film Nadja in Paris several years ago, after watching The Criterion Collection version of Eric Rohmer's Suzanne's Career. It just happened to be an extra on the disc. For some reason I thought of Nadja this morning. I sometimes think of Charlotte, too. Charlotte and Her Steak is another excellent Rohmer short film Criterion included in their Six Moral Tales set. Nadja remains my favorite.



17 comments:

  1. i'm gonna make time to watch those rohmers, at ease. they are pretty atmospheric. thx for the reminder.

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  2. I just adore this - thanks for posting it! I remember you mentioned the Rohmer short films before and have the moral tales set waiting for me in the UK so can't wait to see more. I can really relate to Nadja, walking around, stopping to observe people on the street from a café terrace, enjoying pastries. Paris in the 60s always makes me nostalgic for a time I never knew when the Left Bank wasn't occupied by designer shops and you could live 5 minutes from the Latin Quarter. I still have a great fondness for Montparnasse though.

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  3. Watching Nadja and listening to her observations as she meanders Paris in a blissful bubble was a charming break in my day's activities--Denise, thanks for posting this treat and introducing me to Rohmer.

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  4. Denise:
    I love these video posts.
    I used to go to a theater in Rome made out of airplane pieces (seats and all) in which a loud projector (making the reel noise) would show old classic movies. I would go there 3-4 times a week and sometimes watch 2-3 movies in a row. It was a special place. They played Bunuel, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Chaplin, Bergman, Godard, Truffaut, Antonioni (oh I love him)...and of course Rohmer.

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  5. I have not ever seen these. Thanks for showing me!

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  6. woolf, Enjoy.

    Vanessa, I can see you relating to Nadja. She's an excellent observer. Images of Paris is the 60s are always so beautiful. Hong Kong in the 60s seems pretty amazing too, at least the way Wong Kar-wai represents it in In the Mood for Love.

    nancy, I agree, it is pretty blissful. The last film I saw was incredibly jarring and I was in need of a little bliss.

    Amelia, I'd love to visit this theater in Rome. You describe it beautifully.

    countingdandelions, You are welcome.

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  7. Your post reminds me of the pleasure I've had watching Rohmer's movies in past years - and of late, Chabrol's. Thank you.

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  8. Cha sen, I haven't seen any of Chabrol's work. Do you have any recommendations?

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  9. The snow falling looks so beautiful here! These are such wonderful short films. Blissful is just the right word as Nancy pointed out.

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  10. i'm inhaling criterion movies at night here, after the boys fall asleep, lots of tea and lots of blankets. our tiny library has quite the collection for borrowing. winter and criterion just go together, i think. thanks for the recommendations.

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  11. Thank you for posting this, I wasn't familiar with these films at all. I hope you share more in the future. I've been craving something good to rent and now I know of something good! This is right up my alley.

    Meandering... Observing the crowd from a table at a cafe... My kind of girl :^)

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  12. ps. ...I just thought of why I am drawn to it. There is a feeling similar of Kieslowski films. Some of my favorites. Slow and thoughtful... xo

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  13. I like La Ceremonie by Claude Chabrol - it has his trademark sense of the ominous, with biting social commentary (so French :)

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  14. alexandria, : )

    tara, A good library? You are all set for winter.

    Janis, I should receive A Short Film About Love tomorrow. I hope I found the correct Kieslowski.

    Cha sen, La Ceremonie is next in my queue.

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  15. french movies !!
    i have to admit though that Rohmer is not my favorite director.
    the "natural" tone of his movies always sounded artificial and false to me.

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  16. Elisabelle, So you are not a big Rohmer fan. That's okay. I must admit that these shorts I mention were my favorite parts of the set and I'm sure this was not intended, but I did enjoy some of his other longer works as well.

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  17. Update: I've watched La Ceremonie. Cha sen described it perfectly "ominous, with biting social commentary". I also watched A Short Film About Love and, well, all I'll say is that love can mean very different things for different people. Although not mentioned here, I also saw Black Swan in the theater. One thing is sure, it is definitely time for something cheerful and carefree.

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