Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Audrain The greatest directors can make the most from the very least, and in this case, Éric Rohmer initially seems to present the viewer with the flimsiest of comic scenarios. A quiet young woman, Delphine, played expertly by Marie Rivière, finds herself short a summer vacation traveling companion. Big deal, right? From this we get a series of semi-humorous scenes, some verging on banality, in which Delphine travels to various spots, walks around or talks airily about things, but cannot enjoy herself, not only because she's physically alone, even when with friends, but also because, as we soon learn, she has broken up with a longtime boyfriend, Jean-Pierre. What initially appears to be a depiction of loneliness born of isolation shades into a portrait, lightly but beautifully handled under Rohmer's tough, of a young woman's melancholy, frustration and depression. Delphine breaks into tears several times, and each episode raises the stakes, showing how sad and ultimately angry she truly is, not just because she has truly lost Jean-Pierre, but because she is the kind of person who is not demonstrative, not the life of the party--like the Swedish acquaintance she meets in Biarritz, or her Parisian friends--not inclined to play the games expected of single women. Instead, Delphine is a shy, soft- spoken introvert who takes things and potential relationships as they come, which might mean that she'll never again have a chance at love, or that she won't be able to act in the expected ways if the opportunity were to present itself.Except that maybe she does, or at the very least, she does seize an opportunity that looks like desperation at first until the entire scene plays out. Though I clicked the "spoiler" button I will not give away the ending, but it is a stunner, so simple and incredibly moving. What is also a testament to Rohmer's genius is how he sets it all up, with a very believable, overheard, improvised conversation earlier, revolving around Jules Verne's story *The Green Ray,* and the mythic element in it. This should be a film every film student studies to learn how to pull off the most powerful emotional payoff with what appears to be almost nothing. And Rohmer and Rivière earn it. Superb.

Andres Salama The green ray in the title of this French movie (also called green flash) refers to an optical phenomenon in which you can sometimes see, under certain hard to attain conditions, a green light coming from the horizon right after sunset (or right before sunrise). The famous French novelist Jules Verne wrote about this natural occurrence in a book called "The Green Ray" which is briefly referred to in the movie.The film itself is about Delphine (played by Marie Riviere, who has been in several movies of director Eric Rohmer), who works as a secretary in a Paris office. She is a slender, tallish, moderately attractive black haired woman in perhaps her late twenties and has a "difficult" personality. She has recently broken up with her boyfriend, right before the summer holidays, and the prospect of lonely vacations much saddens her (though to some in the audience it might not make the most compelling of tragic situations). So the movie is about her talking with friends about her predicament until she decides to go alone, meeting on the road a few people (including a Swedish woman who she first meets topless at a beach and who is meant to represent sexually liberal attitudes). I'm not going to spoil it for you whether Delphine will find a romantic partner or not during her travels, but the ray of the title does make an appearance.The movie is from 1986 and since it was shot on the street, you can see people with what are now "period" clothes. If you were, like me, a child in the 1980s, you will probably like this.Talky, as expected from the director, but the dialogues are not as pretentious as in other of his movies. Not the best of Rohmer, but very watchable. One problem with the plot is that it is not terribly original, since most of us have seen too many movies about single women around 30 years of age feeling lonely.

johnrgreen It is hard to believe that this amateurish film(single camera,long takes) about an impossible, narcissistic, Parisien woman with,as a previous reviewer has said ''mental problems''(I suspect this is a the modern take) won a prize at any film festival. I very nearly fast forwarded it at times,so tiresome was its arid,static nature. Rohmer's style is talking rather than action;the talking was an over- analysis of her fragile state of mind and the action was watching this precious self pitying woman(the veggie lecture was so typical)flounce out of every place and situation that her very indulgent friends and acquaintances kindly set up for her,or burst into tears when things weren't going well.Hiding the film behind spurious messages only made things worse. This film reminded me of those indulgent plays that the BBC made in the 70s where little or nothing happened,the play was then forgotten never to be seen again.When this film was released Rohmer was revered by art film lovers but I can't help thinking he has been found out.An over-rated film from an over-rated director.My copy was given away by a newspaper.Terrible film.Good coaster though!

kenjha A single woman in Paris looks to salvage her summer vacation after her original plans are disrupted. Is she shy or depressed or just picky when it comes to men? The answer is not necessarily revealed but it is a pleasant journey as we get to know her and accompany her on scenic excursions in France. Riviere, who co-wrote the script with Rohmer, is quite good as the woman whose boyfriend seems to have left her and who feels like her life is falling apart, but is also unsure what she wants out of life. She is not a particularly sympathetic character but she does seem real. Instead of revealing any big truths, Rohmer is mostly interested in the little things that reveal character.