Love in the Afternoon

1972 1h 37m FR

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 226

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Successful Parisian lawyer Frédéric is happily married to schoolteacher Hélène. Though he daydreams of affairs with other women, he doesn't come close to acting on such thoughts until he runs into Chloé, a beautiful old acquaintance. Tempted by the vibrant Chloé, Frédéric is torn between impulsive lust and his love for Hélène.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Bernard Verley
Frédéric
Zouzou
Chloé
Françoise Verley
Hélène
Daniel Ceccaldi
Gérard
Malvina Penne
Fabienne
Elisabeth Ferrier
Martine
Tina Michelino
The Passenger
Jean-Louis Livi
The Colleague

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Éric Rohmer
Writers: Éric Rohmer
Languages: French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CRAFT

Did you know

Part of the "Six Moral Tales" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Éric Rohmer, shot by Néstor Almendros. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arié Dzierlatka. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Cécile Decugis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Bernard Verley and Zouzou and Françoise Verley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0068205 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Éric Rohmer directs. Néstor Almendros behind the camera. Arié Dzierlatka scores. Cécile Decugis cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

154 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Six Moral Tales" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Éric Rohmer, shot by Néstor Almendros. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arié Dzierlatka. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Cécile Decugis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Bernard Verley and Zouzou and Françoise Verley carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0068205 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Néstor Almendros
Original score: Arié Dzierlatka
Editing: Cécile Decugis
Production design: Nicole Rachline
Costume design: Daniel Hechter
Makeup / hair: Karl Moisant
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
IMDB: Love in the Afternoon (1972)

Part of

Six Moral Tales

Six brief affairs of the mind, from one of cinema's great moral philosophers, Éric Rohmer spent the 1960s and early '70s turning his ideas about cinema into film with this septet of stories about temptation and self-deception. Each installment follows a man already committed to one woman who finds himself drawn to another, only to talk himself back to the first — Rohmer's interest lying less in what his characters do than in the elaborate reasoning they use for justification. Shot with an understated, naturalistic eye and narrated in a wry first-person, the films move from the two black-and-white shorts that open the series to the lush, seasonal features that follow, cementing Rohmer as one of the New Wave's most distinct and influential voices.