Film Review | Ma Nuit Chez Maud (My Night At Maud's)

Tuesday, February, 15th at 11.35 by Katharine Barrau

Now out to buy on DVD thanks to distributor Artificial Eye, Ma Nuit Chez Maud is a classic of French 1960s cinema and widely regarded as the defining centrepiece of legendary film maker Eric Rohmer’s Six Morals tales. It became the work that propelled Rohmer – who died in January 2010 – to international recognition.

Set in a dreary, wintery Clermont-Ferrand (Auvergne) the film stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as Jean-Louis, a chaste, conservative engineer in his early thirties convinced that his Catholic moral code will secure a bride in good time. He even glimpses a blonde whom he deems to be a perfect match whilst attending mass.

But one day an old friend he bumps into, Vidal, introduces him to Maud (Françoise Fabian), a liberated brunette divorcé who attempts to seduce him at her home in the face of his seemingly unbreakable ethical standards. The seduction scene is dazzlingly erotic but the encounter forces Jean-Louis to reassess his own moral standing.

Although the dialogue takes precedence over plot and action in that finest French fashion, the lush black and white cinematography lends yet more beauty and pathos to what is one of Rohmer’s most intelligent films. A must-have for true cinéastes!

Trailer with subtitles