The first film of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, The Girl at the Monçeau Bakery, only twenty-three minutes in length, centers on the dilemma of a young man (Barbet Schroeder) forced to choose between women. The young man, a law student, is infatuated with Sylvie (Michele Girardon),a girl he sees walking on the street each morning and thinks about how to introduce himself. After making a brief connection, the girl suddenly disappears and he spends his days looking for her on the streets of Paris. His search takes him to a nearby bakery where he buys one cookie each day and begins to notice Jacqueline (Claudine Soubrier),the bakery counter girl.

She is shy and withdrawn but when she finally agrees to go out with him, the first woman reappears and he is faced with a choice between a girl he hardly knows but loves and a promising relationship with a girl that has taken to him. He arrives at his choice but it is done coldly and with little regard for the feelings of the rejected woman, rationalizing this by telling himself, "My choice had been above all, moral. One represented truth, the other a mistake, or that was how I saw it at the time." The film, though a first effort, offers believable characters and conveys a strong sense of location, providing a loving glimpse at Paris in the 60s.

The first of Eric Rohmer's six moral tales, The Girl at the Bakery Monceau is probably what newcomers to the unorthodox style of film-making Rohmer employs should first be exposed to. Not because they should be seen in order but more or less due to the fact that the film is under thirty minutes. As in all the tales the theme ( chauvinist male protagonist conflicted over two women) remains the same and in Monceau you are given a small dose of what will carry over into the full length explorations of men in self righteous struggle with reality and ideals.

A young law student on a nearly daily basis passes a young woman he is attracted to on the streets of Paris. Encouraged by his friend to pursue her he asks her out after literally bumping in to her. She agrees to set a date when they meet again but then disappears for days after. The young man begins to search for her by combing the area, sacrificing his meals to give him more time to do so. He substitutes pastry from a local bakery to cover his nourishment. Having no luck with finding Sylvie, he begins to pursue Jacqueline the bakery counter girl while he continues his search.

Rohmer's literary style can be quite trying and his protagonists obnoxiously condescending. His characters are neither heroic or noble. Rohmer's narrative style which depends heavily on interior monologue reveals some ugly truths that may not cause catastrophe but offer insightful points of view that makes the audience pause in reflection. We sometimes see ourselves in such reflections as well as friends and acquaintances.

Eugene O'Neil said "We live in illusion and die in reality." Nothing supplies illusion better than the darkened dream palace which allows us to storm a beach, race a car through city streets, go a round or two with Sugar Ray or get close to Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner. In all of his tales Rohmer narrows that gap, exposing a hum drum reality with a fickle illusion born of self deception. There is a subtle subversive reward to be found in all of the "Moral Tales" and with The Girl at the Bakery Monceau he is off to an excellent start.

"The Bakery Girl of Monceau" is a bit of a misleading title for this film by Eric Rohmer from over 50 years ago. The reason is that the main character is clearly a male and we watch how he has to decide between two women, a blonde and a brunette, and in the end he does not go for the bakery girl. It runs for slightly over 20 minutes and is one of these French atmospheric black-and-white films. I thought there is always some nice artistry to these and this one is no exception. I don't think it is an outstanding piece of filmmaking, but certainly worth a watch. The Iranian-born lead actor Barbet Schroeder also went on to become a successful director in the decades after this film and even scored an Oscar nomination. The two female actresses weren't as successful as Schroeder and Rohmer. One never appeared in another film, the other committed suicide still at a very young age. But they left us a memory here. I recommend this short film.