Boyfriends and Girlfriends (Full Screen)

Boyfriends & Girlfriends is the sixth of French director Eric Rohmer's "Comedies et Proverbes" cycle. The sterility of the "new", prefabricated Parisian suburb of Cergy-Pontoise is used as the backdrop for the colorful activities of the film's five principals (literally colorful, in that each character is represented by a different hue). The dramatis personae includes Ministry of Cultural Affairs worker Blanche (Emmanuelle Chaulet); Blanche's friend, computer school student Lea (Sophie Renoir); Lea's beau (Eric Viellard); unregenerate "wolf" (Francois-Eric Gendron); and his lady friend, iconoclastic art student Adrienne (Anne-Laure Meury). A windsurfing weekend is the scene for an elongated shakeup and reassessment of everyone's relationships. — Hal Erickson

That the course of true love never runs smoothly might be the proverb underlying each of Eric Rohmer's entries in his "Comedies et Proverbes" series. Here it seems to get confused, bouncing back and forth between a quartet of mismatched lovers and would-be lovers who live in an ultra-modern Parisian suburb. In typically subtle fashion, Rohmer introduces libidinal chaos in an environment that appears too subtle to allow for much passion. Matching it are the mores of its inhabitants, who out of politeness and loyalty repress their true feelings. Rohmer takes the "comedy" half of the series' equation seriously, however, and in the essentially optimistic world of the film his characters find it possible to negotiate for love within the bounds of their friendships. Of course, the correct matches would be apparent even without the film's clever scheme of color coding its characters, making it a long haul to the conclusion for those not willing to savor the intricacies of the director's approach. Superficially, this is slight material but Rohmer's handling reveals unexpected depths and, like nearly all of his films, L'Ami De Mon Ami becomes unexpectedly moving as it progresses. — Keith Phipps