Plot
Thirty-four year old engineer Jean-Louis has just started a new job in Clermont. He leads a relatively solitary life not knowing anyone in town besides his work colleagues, he who has made a conscious decision that they should not become his de facto friends just because they work together. His choice not to socialize in town is due also in part to his situation and needing to make the long daily commute to/from Ceyrat where he currently lives. He has had his fair share of women over the course of his adult life, he now choosing to adhere more closely to his Catholic beliefs in approaching romantic and sexual relationships with women solely in the goal of love and marriage. Although not knowing her or having talked to her, he believes the pretty blonde he sees at church at Sunday morning services is the woman destined to be his wife. Within this situation of his new life, he has lately been reading the writings of Blaise Pascal, the mixture of mathematics and Catholicism in particular which he feels applies to his life. One day just before Christmas, he runs into Vidal, an old college friend he hasn't seen in fourteen years, Vidal now a Philosophy professor at the college. Through the course of getting reacquainted over the next couple of days, Vidal invites Jean-Louis over to his friend Maud's apartment the day after Christmas. Maud is a recently divorced pediatrician, and mother to a young adolescent daughter, Marie. Much of Jean-Louis, Vidal and Maud's discussion that evening uses Pascal as a jumping off point, it veering into his philosophies in relation to sex and love, Vidal and Maud who have a different view than Jean-Louis in being atheists. This night, which Jean-Louis learns was not by accident on Vidal's part, has the potential to reshape his life as he would have to admit his attraction to Maud, who is not the theoretical of the perfect mate for him. If he does stay true to his thoughts of the blonde, he may find that a happily ever after with her is not a guarantee, she who may have some baggage of her own.
Written by
Éric Rohmer
Directed by
Éric Rohmer
Crew
Production Countries
France
Production Companies
FFD, SFP, Simar Films, Renn Productions, Les Productions de la Guéville, Les Films du Losange, Les Films du Carrosse, Two World Entertainment, Les Films de la Pléiade, Les Films des deux mondes
Languages
Français
Awards
Nominated for 2 Oscars. 6 wins & 6 nominations total