For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A single woman in Paris looks to salvage her summer vacation after her original plans are disrupted. Is she shy or depressed or just picky when it comes to men? The answer is not necessarily revealed but it is a pleasant journey as we get to know her and accompany her on scenic excursions in France. Riviere, who co-wrote the script with Rohmer, is quite good as the woman whose boyfriend seems to have left her and who feels like her life is falling apart, but is also unsure what she wants out of life. She is not a particularly sympathetic character but she does seem real. Instead of revealing any big truths, Rohmer is mostly interested in the little things that reveal character.

In Paris, fifteen days before her summer vacation, the lonely secretary Delphine (Marie Rivière) receives a call from her friend Caroline telling her that she would not travel with her to Scotland. Delphine does not want to travel alone and has difficulties to have relationship with unknown people, and she decides to travel to Cherbourg with a friend. A couple of days later, she is bored and decides to return to Paris. Then she calls a friend in La Plagne, but she returns on the same day to her place in Saint German. While walking on the streets of Paris, she meets an old friend that offers her house in Biarritz. Once there, a young stranger flirts with Delphine, invites her to go to Bayonne and they spend the afternoon together and watch the sunset until its last green ray.I have had another huge disappointment with the director Eric Rohmer after watching "Le Rayon Vert". I found this movie an overrated, boring and dull tale of loneliness with an annoying lead character. It is very easy to understand the solitude of the unpleasant Delphine and I recommend to see this movie on DVD, since the viewer will be able to use the rewind (when he or she takes an involuntary nap) or the fast forward button in case of unbearable boredom. In my case I was forced to rewind the movie three or four times. My vote is three.Title (Brazil): "O Raio Verde" ("The Green Ray")

Eric Rohmer has fashioned a film that perfectly mirrors the main character Delphine. It is by turns annoying, insightful and moving. With improvised dialogue the film has a more naturalistic feel than some of Rohmers other work, he also shows more interest in nature than usual making this one of his more interesting films to look at. Delphine, brilliantly played by Marie Riviere, is lonely (and seemingly pining for her ex-fiancé) and her attempts at a vacation form the body of the film. She travels to various places but not until the end does she find something like happiness. She can be very maddening - ignoring people (presumably because they are "not the right sort" - just plain rude to my mind), and lecturing a family on her vegetarianism as they tuck into lamb chops. She does though seem a very real person, and many viewers will find themselves rooting for her anyway - she is like many people we know in being full of faults but you still like them anyway. The greatest weakness of the film is that for all her self-absorption Rohmer does not really provide any evidence of self-insight or change (a serious fault in that drama is all about characters changing), Delphine talks a lot about her problems but her explanations often struck me as trite. An oddity among his output, this should be seen by any Rohmer fan, I would not recommend it as an introduction though. (The mark of 6 may seem low by inflated IMDb standards but it is relative to Rohmers other films).

Somehow depressing movie about Delphine's emotions. Pure Rohmer in how the movie deals with sentiments. Nothing is really happening here, but at the same time, a lot is at work. Characters discover what's inside them, what governs their feelings. Not the best Rohmer, but still interesting. Marie Rivière is very good as Delphine.Out of 100, I gave it 74. That's good for **½ out of ****.Seen at home, in Toronto, on February 8th, 2004.