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Product Details
The second of Eric Rohmer's "Comedies and Proverbs" series, A Good Marriage stars Béatrice Romand as Sabine, a headstrong, emotional Roller coaster of a searching single woman. She impulsively leaves her married lover one night and decides she's going to marry, setting out to find her man with a mixture of romantic idealism and calculated determination. When her best friend Clarisse (Arielle Dombasle, from Pauline at the Beach) introduces Sabine to her handsome cousin Edmond (André Dussollier, Perceval), she seems to have found her mate; it's just a matter of convincing him of the impending marriage. But, alas, all is not so simple in Rohmer's world of modern love. Romand's Sabine is a delightful conundrum: resolute, firm, and fiercely independent on the one hand; moody, impulsive, and emotionally fragile on the other. Like all of Rohmer's films, this is driven by conversation, from uncomfortable small talk to confessions between girlfriends, but Sabine also lives her life, passionately pursuing her goals with the single-minded zest of a woman on a mission. Her road to love may take a few unplanned detours, but Rohmer, the eternal romantic, concludes the film on a delightfully hopeful note packed in a few glances and a flirty smile. --Sean Axmaker
Product Reviews
 (5 stars) - Her Ability To Laugh At Herself Makes Film Stellar
Eric Rohmer's film stars Beatrice Romand who impulsively decides that a man she barely knows would make an ideal husband. She throws herself body and soul into his conquest, leaving her old boy friend in the dust. To say she is single minded in pursuit of this Parisian lawyer is a vast understatement. Virtually everyone will find themselves thanking the powers that be that they are not the Parisian lawyer. I am sure most men dread finding themselves in this quandary. The natural reaction is to think of her as a fruitcake and to have very little sympathy for her, especially if you are a man. Then she does something that makes this movie extraordinary. She laughs at herself. She sees the utter ludicrousness of what she is doing and just laughs at herself. This may seem like a simple thing but I can't think of another film which has done something so spectacular. This after all is what separates the ordinary person who wants to fall in love, get married, have a family, and grow old together from a crazed stalker. Almost every other film maker would have chosen to make this a crazed stalker film. But Eric Rohmer instead gave us a nuanced, complex view of ordinary people who often make fools of themselves over their personal lives. Yet most of them have developed senses of humor as part of their adaptation skills so they can dust themselves off and go on. This is real life.
 (4 stars) - Rohmer scores again
Anyone who watches an Eric Rohmer film and is not entranced must be tired of life. His movies explore, in a way that is unique in the cinema, the myriad relations between people in and out of relationships.
Could this movie have been made in any country other than France? No, it could not! Is this a good thing? Well, there have been quite a few nearly unwatchable French films, particularly in the last 15 years, but I defy anyone who has even the smallest romantic bone in their body to watch this and not be uplifted, moved, charmed.
(4 stars) - The grand pursuit
This is the second movie in Rohmer's series "Comedies and Proverbs." A young woman, Sabine (played by Beatrice Romand) gets fed up with having affairs with married men and decides to get married herself. She picks out a lawyer, Edmond (Andre Dussollier) and goes after him straightaway - even though he's not the least bit interested in her. He tries to be polite, but she just won't get the message, she keeps coming on. Finally, in a rather disappointing and far-fetched scene in Edmond's office, he finally gets his point across that he's not interested (his reasons seem contrived and dumb - a real let down). Up to that point, however, the movie is quite good, though of all Rohmer's movies this could be the least substantial, his closest work to a piece of fluff.
(4 stars) - My First Foreign Film, and Definitely Not My Last.
Eric Rohmer's second movie, A Good Marriage, is the first one I've seen, and my being a big fan of Arielle Dombasle aside, it is a very good one. Sabine (Beatrice Romand) is tired of being used and treaded on lightly by her married boyfriend, so after dumping him, she decides she is going to get married. As she explains to her artist friend Clarisse (Arielle Dombasle) she is going to get herself a husband without bedding him first and that's that. She hasn't any prospects, but Clarisse deliberately tries to push her and her cousin Edmond (Andre' Dussollier), who is a lawyer, together at a sister's wedding.
From the beginning, it is very clear that he isn't interested as he just runs out after a phone call. Clarisse insists she has recognized love at first sight and, though Sabine is cool about it, she single-mindedly and relentlessly begins to persue him, determined to make him her husband "whether he likes it or not!"
One can admire Sabine on the one hand for fearlessly going after what she wants, having decided to up her scruples and better things for herself. On the other hand, one gets annoyed at her childlike tantrum-throwing behavior, particularly at her birthday party when he shows up late. I actually felt sorry for him as she wouldn't stop calling his office, then eventually showed up there for a one-on-one in which he informs her he's written her a letter. I also took her side as he spewed off the same old excuse in subtitles: "It's not you, it's me." A man who avoids you and sends you a letter is pointedly telling you that it's you, and saying that it's him is a paltry attempt to be kind.
I do like how she is able to pick herself up and start all over again, realizing her mistake, and I love the humorous ray of hope at the end, which I won't give away. Sabine is a typical young woman learning all about herself and relating to others around her, and Clarisse is her eternally optimistic, romantic best friend. Their relationship and Sabine's with her family say much about her personality and attitude. This is a meaningful, yet fun and enjoyable movie that teaches important lessons about your will and others' being complete opposites. A good, solid story free of the garbage that permeates too many Hollywood productions. This one is clean and highly enjoyable.
(5 stars) - Absolutely delightful
The movie is from Rohmer series of proverbs, and it is very kind and charming. For me, it was a story of a young girl coming out of age, about a conflict between her determination to achieve a goal despite all odds by trying to manipulate others and how life unfolds to shock the her that other people's emotions are not simple matter. What I love about Rohmer's films is the kindness and warmth that radiates, although the stories are somewhat melancholic. I wish movies like this be done nowadays, too, without that garish vulgarity that blights modern cinema.
This is not for Hollywood lovers, therefore.
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