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"Eric Rohmer's 1986 drama may be the finest example of his supple and prickly artistry." - Richard Brody, New Yorker
Winner of the Golden Lion at the 1986 Venice Film Festival, this is one of Eric Rohmer s best-loved films: audiences worldwide found it only too easy to identify with this psychologically and emotionally intricate character study. Unexpectedly and unhappily single, Delphine (Marie Rivière) has to change her holiday plans at the last minute, but isn t especially enticed by any of the alternatives on offer. Having little time for the empty small talk and trivial games demanded by a social circle from which she feels increasingly alienated, she travels from her native Paris to Cherbourg to the Alps to Biarritz in quest of curing her loneliness, without knowing precisely what she s looking for. Rohmer and Jules Verne might seem unlikely bedfellows, but it s Delphine s chance encounter with the latter s novel The Green Ray that ultimately gives her hope as well as one of the most unforgettable endings in Rohmer s entire output.
Special Features:
- Radio Interview with Eric Rohmer
- Trailer
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
This is one of the very best of Rohmer's films and repays repeated viewings. The whole construction of the story is quite superb and the acting (clearly built up by the cast in detailed rehearsals)is just incredibly compelling. Yes, it was shot on 16mm and there are a few imperfections in the film stock. I have seen the film during its screening at the NFT last year and I can confirm that the DVD transfer is very faithful indeed. If you are a lover of Rohmer's films don't be put off by technical criticisms. Buy and enjoy.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Nobody
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
Some people are alone not because there's something wrong with them but because they set their ideals high and refuse to compromise simply for the sake of fitting in or not being alone. Delphine is one such person who says it's easier to deal with loneliness than an unhappy relationship. At times it appears she's being difficult and disagreeable when in reality it's her well meaning friends who fail to understand her predicament. She knows what she wants but not how to get it. "The Green Ray" was the fifth part of Eric Rohmer's 'comedies and proverbs' series and it must be said that I found the ending to have a beautiful transcendental quality that is rarely seen in contemporary cinema. The film visually might not be all that remarkable but rather it's more like a good book. It's idea will stay with you for a long time.
Cast:
Marie Riviere (The Aviator's Wife,1981; A Winter's Tale,1992)
Cast:
Marie Riviere (The Aviator's Wife,1981; A Winter's Tale,1992)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Rohmer in Green Ray seems to come at life from books,literature.We hear of Jules Vernes's source novel for the beautiful image that illuminates the heroine's idealistic ideas of love and relationships.She reads Dostoevsky's The Idiot at a railway station and meets a man who knows it.Delphine(Marie Riviere) can't decide where to spend her holiday,she is chronically indecisive.Her friend has dropped out on going on holiday with her,she has broken with her boyfriend,she is at her wit's end what to do,where to go.She is young and feels unable to go along with her friends'suggestions to meet somebody while alone, to get out and away more,although she tries trips to the country,trips to the mountains, time in Paris,time at the sea-side.She is superstitious,aware of star signs,aware of the meaning of chance cards or colours,in meeting her dream man.She sets herself high standards, this comes out in the eating scene,where her fastidiousness as to diet is a reflection of a yearning she cannot fulfil,leading to her tearful,labile moods.She can appear a pain in the neck,but she also shows the dark side of youth,being alone,not fitting in,being restless and frustrated with her life.The front quote from Rimbaud is apt:
"Oh that the time might come,when hearts may succumb."
She is neurotic,depressed,dislikes the commodification of one night stands,yet has no guide to give her directions.The film is distinguished by naturalistic shooting and a loose,improvisational style,set in diary form,day-by-day in which nothing much happens,but Rohmer gives us an insight through Delphine's gestures and expressions into her inner feelings,with delicacy, charm and tenderness.... Read more ›
"Oh that the time might come,when hearts may succumb."
She is neurotic,depressed,dislikes the commodification of one night stands,yet has no guide to give her directions.The film is distinguished by naturalistic shooting and a loose,improvisational style,set in diary form,day-by-day in which nothing much happens,but Rohmer gives us an insight through Delphine's gestures and expressions into her inner feelings,with delicacy, charm and tenderness.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By MarkusG
Format:DVD
"The Green Ray" was made 1986 and is a typical Rohmer film: middle class people, a plot that revolves around romantic relations, a lot of dialogues with references to philosophy or literature (not too heavy, though). The protagonist, Delphine, is a difficult character out of touch with her own feelings. She has a hard time connecting to anyone and anything, and spends the vacation swithing between places and people.
If you like Rohmers films you will probably like The Green Ray. And if you like films based on dialogue and human relationships you should give it a try. If you are interested in french film you must see at least something by Rohmer. The only minus is the picture/transfer: the picture is grainy and the sound is not always perfect. Personally I didn't mind this after a few minutes. There is extra material: a radio interview with Rohmer. According to Rohmer himself this is the only of his films where music is used for setting the mood. In his other movies the music is a part of the scenery.
If you like Rohmers films you will probably like The Green Ray. And if you like films based on dialogue and human relationships you should give it a try. If you are interested in french film you must see at least something by Rohmer. The only minus is the picture/transfer: the picture is grainy and the sound is not always perfect. Personally I didn't mind this after a few minutes. There is extra material: a radio interview with Rohmer. According to Rohmer himself this is the only of his films where music is used for setting the mood. In his other movies the music is a part of the scenery.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
I don't know what disc the previous reviewer is looking at, but the new Arrow R2 disc of LE RAYON VERT is very good indeed. The film was originally shot on 16mm so it's never going to look like LOVE ACTUALLY.
If you want to see how bad a DVD of this film can look, see the R1 Fox Lorber disc (called SUMMER in the USA). [...] has a superb comparison.
The Arrow disc has removable English subtitles and an excellent transfer. Thoroughly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By GlynLuke
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
There are some films that you love without qualification and beyond reason. For me, Le Rayon Vert/The Green Ray is one.
It may not, in certain ways, be the best film ever made or even the very best that Eric Rohmer has directed; it doesn`t matter, it speaks to the deepest part of me, mainly due to the central character, Delphine (a name which crops up more than once in Rohmer`s films) and her embodiment by the quite wonderful Marie Riviere, in a partly improvised performance that is of a graceful, discreet beauty - there`s no other word for it - such as one seldom sees in any film.
Other `fellow travellers` here have outlined the plot, and I gladly direct you to their reviews. Mine will mostly be a personal response to a film which means as much to me as any I`ve seen.
It helps that Rohmer is one of my favourite directors in the first place, but here he gives us a tale with little actual plot (plus ca change!) yet plenty of emotion and heart. Delphine, someone I find I can empathise with all to well, finds herself alone in the summer holidays. Her friends cajole, persuade and bully her to go out and find herself a man, and their well-meaning efforts draw her back into her shell as much as the opposite. However, she tries various things: a few days with friends of a friend in the country; then back to Paris...a trip to the mountains - she stays less than a day; back to Paris again...then a rather more tactful friend she runs into outside a Parisian cafe offers her the use of a flat in Biarritz. So off she goes.... Read more ›
It may not, in certain ways, be the best film ever made or even the very best that Eric Rohmer has directed; it doesn`t matter, it speaks to the deepest part of me, mainly due to the central character, Delphine (a name which crops up more than once in Rohmer`s films) and her embodiment by the quite wonderful Marie Riviere, in a partly improvised performance that is of a graceful, discreet beauty - there`s no other word for it - such as one seldom sees in any film.
Other `fellow travellers` here have outlined the plot, and I gladly direct you to their reviews. Mine will mostly be a personal response to a film which means as much to me as any I`ve seen.
It helps that Rohmer is one of my favourite directors in the first place, but here he gives us a tale with little actual plot (plus ca change!) yet plenty of emotion and heart. Delphine, someone I find I can empathise with all to well, finds herself alone in the summer holidays. Her friends cajole, persuade and bully her to go out and find herself a man, and their well-meaning efforts draw her back into her shell as much as the opposite. However, she tries various things: a few days with friends of a friend in the country; then back to Paris...a trip to the mountains - she stays less than a day; back to Paris again...then a rather more tactful friend she runs into outside a Parisian cafe offers her the use of a flat in Biarritz. So off she goes.... Read more ›
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully depicts the pain and loneliness of young adulthood
Along with An Autumn Tale and My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, this is one of Rohmer's very best films.
While so many films focus on the confusion and pain of adolescence, The... Read more
While so many films focus on the confusion and pain of adolescence, The... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Tonkfan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Evidence of love
Wonderful film. Directed with a stripped down intimate style without music, the camera eavesdrops on conversations and punctuates them with panoramas of the places they are taking... Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2010 by W. Rodick
5.0 out of 5 stars
International winner, overlooked in France
Summer (Le Rayon Vert) is the fifth of French director Eric Rohmer's "Comedies et Proverbes" movie cycle. Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2010 by Matti
1.0 out of 5 stars
Boring Boring
This film has a self centred female as its lead character, she constantly moans about everything and every event that occurs to her. Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2009 by David
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great acting but boring
I acknowledge that the acting is very good and realistic, however one and half hours of listening to an irritating complainer of a lead character got a bit tedious. Read more
Published on 4 May 2009 by Bluebell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rohmer at his best
A movie about loneliness - how it can grow on you, or how you can grow it yourself. As usual in a Rohmer film, there is a lot of talk - but at times it seems to flow around... Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2008 by H. Beentje
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I'm not very operational in life"
Delphine (Marie Rivière) is a young woman that doesn't exactly know what she wants in life, and that is unable to relate well to others. Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2006 by M. B. Alcat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb deep and intense psychological dramas
Eric Rohmer's films have few characters, usually concentrating on a single human drama dissected in minute detail. Read more
Published on 15 May 2006 by pointone
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