In The Collector, the first feature-length film of the Six Moral Tales series, mind-games, strategies, and overt manipulation thwart the possibility of satisfying relationships. The 54-minute film is beautifully photographed and has an elegance, charm, and wit that bears favorable comparison with his more acclaimed works. Adrien (Patrick Bauchau),an art dealer, and Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle),a painter spend the summer in a house on the French Riviera. Also vacationing there is Haydee (Haydee Politoff),an elegant but rather aloof young woman who sleeps with many boys in the area and has earned the title of "collectionneuse", a collector of men. Adrien, smug and self-centered in a charming sort of way, is interested in Haydee but tells himself that her promiscuity is a trick for him to seduce her and he refuses.

The summer turns into a love triangle with Adrien convincing Daniel to pursue Haydee to ease the pressure of his own conflict between his rationalizing intellect and his passions. In the moral scheme of things, Haydee may represent the sexual revolution of the 60s and Adrien that of traditional morality, yet the film takes no sides, presenting the issues without judging the characters and giving us much to think about. The Collector is perhaps the most philosophical of the six but in the end the pursuit without passion leads to a feeling of emptiness and missed opportunities. Like most of Rohmer's films, there are no peak dramatic moments or confrontations, just everyday life elevated into art.

LA COLECTIONNEUSE is Eric Rohmer's first color feature, and along with cinematographer and frequent collaborator Nestor Almendros, he uses a bright palette to maximum advantage in a story that like its time frame, is bursting in warm, vibrant hues that pretty much parallels the equally lightweight plot. Straying habitually close to the same story that makes up what the "Moral Tales" are about, this one concerns a frisky female, Haydee (Haydee Politoff),who captures the attention and equal repulsion of two other young men: Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle),an artist with a penchant for making art that literally cuts its viewers "who aren't sharp", and Adrien (Patrick Bauchau),a young art dealer who is soon to make a lucrative purchase from an American artist.

Haydee is first seen in a frank, objectified way: walking on the beach of Saint Tropez, alone, as the camera lingers on her face (reminiscent of Charlize Theron),her torso, her legs. It's, in a way, Rohmer's mode of possibly depersonalizing his heroine since she remains a murky character with little definition -- one moment submissive, another moment quite take-charge, but always obscure. It's also a way of introducing her carefree way to the viewer; had she been introduced as a buttoned-down, prim female, it would have been clear her role would be that of a woman of stiff mores. But, as we see throughout the movie, Haydee is living in the middle of the swinging Sixties and she could care less about those things. Nor if her partying disturbs the sleep of Adrien or Daniel.

Their share at the summer house in Saint Tropez is anything but placid. The two men are appalled at her behavior and decide not to have sex with Haydee "for her own good." Adrien even decides to dub her "The Collector" -- a moniker that makes up the title of the movie and points at a spiteful machismo because where men can be womanizers and be called studs, women who take on this attitude are sanctioned. He stays at a distance from Haydee as she becomes involved with Daniel. Their liaison, however, becomes rocky and both soon part ways, leaving Haydee and Adrien with an open door to come one step closer. In a shocking move, Adrien offers her to a prospective client in order to secure a Song vase. Surprisingly, she accepts, not without an incident involving the aforementioned vase, which in turn leads Haydee right into Adrien's arms.

Rohmer's movie is not without its "Rohmerisms" where characters introduce themselves with lengthy discussions as to the nature of life, love, attractions, and repulsions. In fact, every character minus Haydee does so, which makes her the more elusive and difficult to describe. Is she just floating along with what the men think they want? Or is she really clueless, a woman who has a simple view on life and who doesn't find any guilt in her actions? Interestingly enough, her "philosophy" is rather close to that of Adrien's girlfriend (every male character in his "Six Moral Tales" arc has a steady) who sees love as universal, indifferent to beauty or ugliness. That Haydee acts upon Adrien's girlfriend's statement says a lot more about who the girlfriend might be, but sheds an accessible light on Haydee.

And anyways, she comes off better than any of the two men, as do the other females of Rohmer's sextet -- Maud, Laura, or Chloe. (It's also interesting that all of the "other women" are mainly brunette and aggressive or assertive in temper, whereas the "ideal" one is frequently blond or passive in character.) Even when objectified, there is a mysterious likability within her that is missing in his two male leads. Adrien is a little hypocritical of his own observant nature and while he openly derides Haydee he also wants her. Daniel is a dark guy in this story and in all of the "Six Moral Tales" collection, not just because of his pain-inducing art, but a veneer of violence just underneath his arrogant demeanor. Maybe, in this story -- as well as all of his others -- Rohmer seems to be the Ultimate Observer, painting a picture in regards to immature men, their attraction to a worldly female, and their decision to remain in a complacent union with another one that can only be there as a Barbie doll.

Eric Rohmer is a very well respected director and my hating many of his films flies is not typical of many of the reviewers here on IMDb. You might wonder why I keep watching his films and it's because sometimes I have enjoyed them--such as with "Autumn Tale". But too often I find his films extremely talky and slow...too slow.

This story is about a pretentious and morally superior man named Adrien. He is the sort of guy who THINKS he's somehow better and more intelligent than most, but in this film he just seems like a jerk. This jerk goes to stay at some summer home along with his friend, Daniel. Daniel is a sullen and grouchy jerk and perhaps even more difficult to like than Adrien. Into this joyous household comes a free-spirited and VERY sexually liberated young lady, Haydée. Daniel and Adrien immediately look down on her because of her blasé attitude about sex but soon it becomes clear that the two men would be more than willing to score with her. Adrien takes the approach of a guy who is indifferent to her and he seems to spend most of the film convincing himself he does NOT want Haydée. By the end of the film will Adrien and Haydée 'hook up'?

The idea of a pseudo-intellectual snob who feigns indifference towards a sexually adventurous lady isn't the most exciting thing but it could have been much more interesting. First, injecting the movie with ENERGY would have sure helped. Instead, this movie is almost glacially slow and dull. Second, making the characters likable in some way would have increased the audience's connection with the film. I hated Adrien and Daniel in particular. Third, the movie should not have been done mostly with voice-overs by Adrien. Allowing the characters to talk and allowing everything to unfold without narration would have made it more interesting and less pretentious. Overall, I guess this is another one of Rohmer's stories that I just don't get.