Eric Rohmer

Eric Rohmer (1920-2010) was born in Tulle, France. He studied literature and for a time taught in French secondary education. In 1948, he began engaging in film criticism, primarily through the columns of the magazines "La revue du cinema" and "La gazette du cinema." He also published reviews and essays in the legendary magazine "Cahiers du cinéma," where he served as editor-in-chief. As a director, he made his debut in 1959 with the film "Le Signe du Lion" ("The Sign of Leo"), which he created with the support of his Nouvelle Vague friends, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Rivette. As a less "flashy" name of the French New Wave, he directed many masterful films, mainly those belonging to the famous cycles "Six Moral Tales" and "Comedies and Proverbs." His most well-known films include: "La Collectionneuse" (1966), "My Night at Maud's" (1969, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film), "Claire's Knee" (1970), "Love in the Afternoon" (1972), "The Marquise of O" (a film adaptation of Kleist's novella, 1976), "The Aviator's Wife" (1981), "Full Moon in Paris" (1984), "The Green Ray" (1986), "Boyfriends and Girlfriends" (1987), and "A Tale of Winter" (1991). Rohmer also supported a doctoral dissertation on "The Organization of Cinematic Space in Murnau's Faust" and taught directing at the University of Paris-8. He passed away in Paris in January 2010, at the age of 89. French President Nicolas Sarkozy remarked on his passing: "Classical and romantic, wise and iconoclastic, light and serious, emotional and moralistic, he created the 'Rohmer style' that will outlive him by far."