AVIATOR’S WIFE, THE

THE AVIATOR'S WIFE is the first of Eric Rohmer's latest series “Comedies and Proverbs” begun eight years after his successful “Six Moral Tales” series ended. Between series, his “Marquise of O” (1976) and “Perceval” (1978) marked a departure from his contemporary screenplays based on his own literature. Less analytical than the intellectual characters of “My Night at Maud's” (1967) and “Claire's Knee” (1971), the young people of THE AVIATOR'S WIFE continue their verbal duels between the sexes; the difference is that they do so without questioning their motives. Francois (Philippe Marlaud) is a law student working nights at the post office. A dizzy round of misconceptions begins his day when he stops at his girlfriend Anne's (Marie Riviere) apartment and assumes she is still having an affair with the pilot he spies leaving her door. Francois trails the pilot, who is joined by a mysterious lady. Spotting an air of intrigue, 15-year-old Lucie (Anne-Laure Meury) begs to join Francois in his quest. Lucie's delightful tease in a Paris park outshines whatever Anne, who is a bit of a pill, has to offer. With Rohmer's usual irony, he leaves Francois almost unaware of the choices available to him. “The latest meditation on romantic absurdity is one of Rohmer's most approachable and overtly comic works.” – Richard Schickel, Time