34-year-old Jean-Louis (Trintignant), an engineer working in a small southern French city, knows what he wants in a wife: young, pretty, intelligent, blond, and a devout Catholic. The young blonde he repeatedly notices at Mass looks like she could be the ticket; but how to meet her? Meanwhile he runs into Vidal (Vitez), an old school chum who is now a philosophy professor. They discuss Pascal, wagers, and Marxism at a cafe, and then Vidal takes Jean-Louis to meet Maud (Fabian), a recently divorced doctor who is very direct and open, and has been having a casual affair with Vidal. Jean-Louis ends up staying the night at Maud's apartment, where they discuss religion, love, ethics, and Maud unsuccessfully tries to seduce her guest. Then Jean-Louis gets to work engineering a meeting with the blonde. All of this takes place over a snowy Christmas holiday, but a short coda five years later reveals a mystery that had not been evident before. This 1969 film is classic Eric Rohmer -- an excellent introduction to viewers unfamiliar with his relaxed, subtly witty, and talkative movies.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S (Ma Nuit chez Maud) is a movie written and directed by Eric Rohmer in 1969. The picture earned two nominations for the Academy Awards in the "Best Foreign Language Film" and "Best Original Screenplay" categories.
Jean-Louis, a practicing Catholic, observes a young woman during the mass, and decides that he'll marry her. Jean-Louis's friend, Vidal, invites him to pass an evening at Maud's home. They talk about religion. Vidal then leaves and let the not-so puritan Trintignant alone with a Maud still chatting and lying in bed almost naked.
Will Trintignant succumb to the charm of Maud or be faithful to the blonde girl, observed at the church, whom he hasn't had the chance to meet yet? That's the moral dilemma of the movie.
The review of this Movie prepared by Daniel Staebler
