Le beau mariage (A Good Marriage)

In the second part of Comédies et proverbes, Rohmer continues to dissect love, this time through a heroine who attempts to organise her infatuation in a rational manner. Sabine (Béatrice Romand, who was a naive girl in Le genou de Claire but is now a grown woman) impulsively decides to get married and is convinced that the lawyer Edmond (André Dussolier) will be her ideal husband, even though he shows little interest in her. Her carefully thought-out strategy results in a series of painful but often comical misunderstandings. Sabine commutes between her hometown of Le Mans and Paris, whilst chattering endlessly with her best friend (the ethereal Arielle Dombasle). Rohmer approaches her with a blend of irony and empathy: he does not judge her, but shows how dreams and self-deception go hand in hand. The film is a playful study of romantic illusions, in which the understated mise-en-scène and flawless editing dissect the characters’ psychology with exquisite precision.