nycritic Review of The Bakery Girl of Monceau

The Bakery Girl of Monceau (1963)

The First of the "Six Moral Tales"

[8/10 · 6 September 2006]

It's said that a writer tells the same story over and over again. Eric Rohmer during a period spanning some nine years developed an idea in regards to the relationship between a man, the ideal woman he loves, and the alluring temptation that presents itself as an aggressive female. In LA BOULANGERE DE MONCEAU, he begins his six-part observation in which a young law student played by Barbet Schroder (who would also become a noted director) who falls for a pretty woman named Sylvie he sees walking down the street. He eventually makes his introduction, rather clumsy and coy, but soon after she is missing. During that time he meets another woman, Jacqueline, who works at a pastry store. He gets acquainted with her, while analyzing his own attraction -- Jacqueline not being his type. He even makes the move of inviting her out. Eventually he reconnects with Sylvie who explains her absence via an accident she had had and which had left her foot in a cast. She also lets him in on the fact that she's been aware of his flirtation with the bakery girl because her window opens to the street. By the film's end, the young student has made his decision in a rather cold and calculating way, rationalizing that while Jacqueline was a distraction and their relationship would have failed, Sylvie was the one with whom he could find fulfilment with. Shot in a documentary-like feel which was the style of the New Wave, Rohmer's short film subject is pretty well developed despite its length, with hints of the characters that would appear in his later films. Contemplative and observational like a comedy of manners and a nice introduction to his study of what happens when a man meets his ideal woman and his carnal desire.