Jerome, a prominent French diplomat, spends his vacation at a beautiufl lake home on Lake Annecy. A ladies man of sorts, Jerome has recently gotten engaged to be married, convinced he has finally found that someone who he enjoys being around. Jerome meets up with a past flame, Aurora, an Italian writer who has always enjoyed Jerome's strong personality. The two devise somewhat of a game involving a family friend's teenage daughter, Laura, with Jerome intent on flirting with her in an effort to understand her dreams and desires. Laura falls in love with Jerome but his desires become directed at Claire, Laura's older sister. Eric Rohmer's Claire's Knee is a pensive exploration of male and female relationships, capturing the struggle between carnal desires and structured moral beliefs. This is a film full of intellectual dialogue that comments on loads of interesting ideas surrounding love, relationships, desires, and moral codes. Jerome is a fascinating character, a highly intelligent man whose love is of the possessive variety, one in which he always needs to feel control over the relationship. While this is certainly a selifish way to look at love, Jerome argues that being able to be yourself in a relationship is the ultimate form of love. Claire is a character that pays little attention to Jerome at first, and this drives him crazy, leading to a fetish-like infatuation with Claire's Knee. Rohmer captures this carnal aspect of Jerome's yearnings, intentionally breaking down Claire emotionally in an effort to get the upperhand in their relationship. His goal is to seize power from Claire, a woman who paid him no mind, in an efort to seduce. In the end, Rohmer's film is full of fascinating discussions, arguing that the key to any healthy relationship is freedom. Jerome fetish-driven pursuit to touch Claire's knee was successful, but Claire viewed it merely as sympathy, which in turn opens Jerome's eyes to the destructive nature of his actions, which in turn serves as a great reminder of how much he truly cares for and desires the woman he is marrying.
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June 2023
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