(Chloe in the Afternoon / L'Amour l'après-midi)
Directed by Eric Rohmer
95 minutes
In French with English subtitles

Early in his career French director Eric Rohmer did a series of six films that contemplated issues of monogamy, morality and self-honesty. As a kind of inside joke, he gave them all titles which sounded like soft-core sex films (like this film). All of the films are deeply meditative, hilarious, engaging and unspectacular. In other words, people expecting a swelling music score, dramatic moments, flashy editing, glamorous stars, car crashes or an easy conclusion will probably be best to look elsewhere... but anyone looking for serene beauty in simplicity, this is a must. 

In L'Amour l'après-midi the plot revolves around Frederic (Bernard Verley), a businessman who has convinced himself that he is absolutely content with his life... after all he is happily married to Helene and has a kid with another on the way. But then enters an old acquaintance, Chloé (Zouzou), who represents everything Frederic's life is not... she's spontaneous, volatile and bohemian. She is living day to day, while Frederic's monotonous bourgeois life is bogged down in routine. This throws him into the dilemma of deciding whether he should have an affair... if he should go with his feelings or his conscience.

This is certainly one of the best films that Rohmer ever made. It's charming, confronting, compelling and unusual. And by the way, I should mention that the sexy seductress Chloé, who forces our main character into wrestling with his existence, is played by actress/model/singer Zouzou, who was once an icon of the swinging 60s here in Europe.