Flipside Movie Emporium

[beltmann]

"BERLIN (AP) - French director Eric Rohmer canceled a planned appearance Friday at the Berlin International Film Festival because of frail health, his producer said.

Rohmer, 83, had been expected to present his new spy thriller, "Triple Agent," a story of espionage and intrigue in pre-World War II Paris that had its world premiere in Berlin and is competing for the Golden Bear being awarded Saturday.

"He has terrible back pain and can neither sit nor stand," Rohmer's producer, Francoise Etchegaray, told a news conference. Rohmer's doctor advised him not to attend, she said.

Rohmer, known for leisurely explorations of human relationships in films such as "Claire's Knee" and "Pauline at the Beach," relied on words - not action - in his latest work. It is based loosely on the case of a former White Army Russian general who worked as a double agent for Stalin and spied on anti-communist Russian exiles in Paris.

The film got a lukewarm reception from the Berlin audience, but Greek actress Katerina Didaskalu, who plays the spy's wife, said dialogue can tell an exciting story.

"The characters of Eric Rohmer talk a lot, but we do the same," she said. "It's a very human thing to talk ... and I believe that's action, too."

Twenty-three films are in this year's Berlin competition, which has upheld the festival's reputation for showcasing political themes."

Any Rohmer fans around?

Eric

[i_hate_beltmann]

you suck

[the night watchman]

Not a Rohmer fan, obviously.
_________________
"If you're talking about censorship, and what things should be shown and what things shouldn't be shown, I've said that as an artist you have no social responsibility whatsoever."

-David Cronenberg

[matt header]

I'm a terrible film buff - I've only seen one Rohmer, and it's one of his most recent (The Lady and the Duke). I really need to check him out, as well as about 300 other directors I've never watched. Sheesh.