Main Cast: Jean-Claude Brialy, Aurora Cornu, Béatrice Romand, Laurence de Monaghan, Fabrice Luchini
Release Year: 1970
Country: FR
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
The fifth of Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales," Claire's Knee is a deliciously Rohmeresque story of sexual obsession. French diplomat Jerome (Jean-Claude Brialy), on a resort vacation, meets Claire (Laurence De Monaghan), the teen-aged daughter of a friend. Though engaged to be married, Jerome falls hopelessly in love -- not with Claire, but with Claire's knee. Realizing that to be revealed as a fetishist would be ruinous for him, Jerome does not act upon his obsession. Eventually he gets to fulfill his yearnings by placing his hand upon Claire's knee, a gesture which she assumes is out of sympathy for a personal crisis she is going through. Originally released as Le Genou de Claire, this film was the recipient of the Prix Louis Delluc and the Prix Melies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The fifth of Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" about men's diverted romantic desires confronts an engaged man with two alluring teenage girls. Even as Jean-Claude Brialy's Jerome fixates on Claire's delicate, athletic knee, his interaction with her precocious sister Laura and his writer friend Aurora, a literal teller of tales, turns Claire's Knee into an extended, complex, often smartly comic conversation on the nature of love, desire, and fetishization. Amid all the intimate talk, Nestor Almendros's color cinematography lends a sensual glow to the lakeside location. With Brialy the only professional actor in the cast, novelist Aurora Cornu and Lolita-like Beatrice Romand infuse Aurora and Laura with a wisdom that rings true, despite Laura's youth. Greeted with rave reviews, Claire's Knee was named Best Picture of the year by the National Society of Film Critics. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
On the eve of his wedding, on holiday on the Lake Annecy shore, a career diplomat visits an old acquaintance, perhaps a former girlfriend. Through her he meets an intense teenager, Laura, and then lusts after her sister, Claire. Whilst Laura attempts to flirt with him, his fantasy becomes focussed on wanting to caress Claire's knee.
