bijou-2 One of those French films where people walk through vineyards talking about love. Funny how you only find these relaxed chatty French people in movies yet the real Paris is as high strung and angry as New York. Maybe they act like this when they go to the country on weekends.Don't let this laid back act fool you, though. A stereotypical French professor lusting after his teenager students and lovesick middle aged women without anything to do is what passes for love here. The younger pretty people are so one dimensionally uninteresting they may as well be pets. It would appear that vineyard farming near a nuclear power plant is both glamorous and apparently not very time consuming. This leaves our characters plenty of time to wax melancholy about "l'amour".Among this films many conceits is the lack of a hairbrush or a comb for miles. Shaggy wind blown hair and weeds are the metaphors here. Give me a break!

Harry T. Yung One of the original French New Wave directors, Eric Rohmer completed the last and most cheerful of his "Four Season" series "Autumn Tale" when he was 79 years young (at 84 he made "Triple Agent" and showed no sign of tiring).One most interesting thing about "Autumn Tale" is that two professional critic said what appear to be opposite things about the place of plots in Rohmer's films, but actually meant the same thing. One said, "Plot is typically one of the least important elements of a Rohmer movie", while the other " His films are heavily, craftily plotted, and yet wear their plots so easily that we feel we're watching everyday life as it unfolds." "Autumn Tale" plays almost like a stage play, with two multi-scene acts. The first act sets up the stage and develops the characters. The second act is a wedding party where two matchmaking efforts collide. The object is a widowed vineyard owner who tries to convince herself that she is happily occupied with her work. Scheme number one comes from a good friend (who is happily married and has a daughter who is getting married) who put up a "lonely heart" ad for her, interviews the applicant and tries to bring the two together at the wedding party. Scheme number two comes, brilliantly and unexpectedly, from her son's lovely girlfriend who is very fond of her. The candidate here is the young lady's ex, a professor who can "talk philosophy". This is a ridiculous idea in the son's view, "You're trying to make your ex my stepfather".So much for the plot, which is described above in its bear minimum, without its various hints of subtleties. The beauty of the movie is really in the acting. Never over-directed, it allows the absolutely top-notch cast to take the audience into a happy two-hour party. At the end, you don't feel like having watched a movie with phoney characters, but rather like having spent an evening with some good friends, who are real people. We are charmed and delighted, as well as gently probed into thinking more about relationships between people, particularly how they click. In a way, it's quite similar to "Sideways" but comes even more naturally. Like "Sideways", it has an open ending which is the nearest you can come to a happy ending.

MartinHafer This was a little film with a simple plot and likable characters. In fact, Hollywood would learn a lot from films like this. It's not the dynamic plot, special effects or big name stars that often make a film exceptional, it's the writing and the acting! And this movie is written so lovingly and acted so honestly that I couldn't help but like it. This, despite the notable absence of the sensational elements in the movie, made for a wonderful film. Think about it--the basic plot is an older woman who owns her own small winery is lonely. So, her friend tries to find a man for her and so does her grown child. Talk about your simple plot! And yet it works! So if you are in the mood for something different, give this movie a try.

gregoHP Although the movie is enjoyable enough, I didn't like it very much. First of all, it takes a long time to go to the point, making the start of the movie a bit boring.The relationships between the characters are a bit funny and the way they behave too. Or maybe French people are like that in real life? (just joking).Anyway, when the main plot starts, the movie is quite enjoyable. I liked the character of Isabelle (the best actress in the movie for me). I didn't understand Rosine nor Magalie, maybe they were too deep for me (or very shallow perhaps).