"One of the most influential and talked-about films of the decade.” - THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Nominated for 2 Oscars and officially selected at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, this film established Rohmer’s international reputation.

REVIEWS

Excellent critical acclaim...

"The magic of the film is that it moves along with a charming lightness, telling its story, and never seeming overly cerebral or melodramatic; it makes us believe in and feel for its characters, even as we analyse and dissect their actions." - SENSES OF CINEMA

"Most refreshing is the sight and sound of four characters who are articulate, interested, informed, educated, amused, vulnerable, totally free of epigrams and aware of their identities. Their only concern is the manner in which they will realize those identities, and whether it will be by choice, predestination or simple luck.

The film is beautifully played, that is, as written, which is almost as if it were music." - THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Eric Rohmer presents a fascinating, clever, and insightful film on principles, faith, and love in My Night at Maud's, the third film (first full length feature) in Rohmer's remarkable examination of morality in contemporary society, Six Moral Tales. (...)

My Night at Maud's is a refreshingly simple, witty, yet profound observation on the exhilarating process of love - from the first glance to the destined meeting - and, in between, all the wonderful distractions that momentarily derail its inevitable course." - FILM REF

"With his characteristically witty and engaging dialogue, Rohmer creates a story which is both intelligent and captivating." - FILM DE FRANCE

THE PLOT

After spending several years abroad, Jean-Louis, an engineer recently settled in Clermont-Ferrand, longs for some peace and quiet. At the church he attends every Sunday, he notices a young blonde woman he fancies and decides that she will become his wife. Then, while at a local restaurant, he meets Vidal, an old school friend, now a philosophy professor at Clermont-Ferrand University. Vidal invites him to spend Christmas Eve at Maud's house. A doctor and divorcee, the dark-haired Maud, a beautiful, fascinating and single woman, is not impervious to Jean-Louis' charms.

MORAL TALES

My Night at Maud's is part of a series of 6 films that Rohmer called "Moral Tales".

The 6 films are based on the same story line:

"A man falls in love with a woman, thereby forming a commitment, either in fact or in principle, and then must navigate safe passage through sexual temptation by relying on (and sometimes discovering) his moral code, proving himself worthy of that love." - from the BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

SUBJECTIVE MORALITY:

"Rohmer's brand of morality is subjective and non-judgemental; his characters include students and petits bourgeois and the idle rich, Catholics and atheists, singles and marrieds-with-children, and their standards vary. The point is "to thine own self be true" as the series depicts the ways in which thoughtful people can meet themselves in the mazes of their own stratagems, and how their true selves are sometimes at odds with the people they think they are or aspire to be." - BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

These films are all based on the story of the incredible silent film Dawn, from Murnau (the German Director of Nosferatu). If you haven't seen that film by the way - you should - a pure gem.

The other films part of the series of the "Moral Tales" are: La Collectionneuse, My Night at Maud's (showing here on the 9 July), 2 short films (showing on 21 June), and Love in the Afternoon.

2009 marks the 50^th anniversary of one of the most significant movements in the history of cinema, the French New Wave. To celebrate, we have decided to run a season of films from one of the lesser known great filmmakers of this revolutionary movement: Eric Rohmer.

"One of the most extraordinary directorial careers in the history of cinema" - SIGHT AND SOUND

"One of the great classical artists of the last half-century" - THE INDEPENDENT

This season would not have been possible without the support of the Institut Francais and CulturesFrance.