Éric Rohmer's La Collectionneuse | The Collector (1967)

 

So, Rohmer's first 32mm feature film (made for almost nothing), and the third of the Comédies et proverbes series. Essentially it's – like most of the others in this series – about sexual temptation swerved and the man (it's always a man) going back to his first choice. Adrien (Patrick Bauchau) is leaving for St Tropez to do a little business with an American collector of rare vases – but really far more to laze around in his rich friend Rodolphe's hired villa by the sea* with Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) while his fiancée goes to London.

Unfortunately, the house is also occupied by the tempting young Haydée, who is the real collector, a collector of men, who goes off with a different guy at night until the two men put a stop to it. Both men are obsessed by Haydée, and Daniel sleeps with her but soon leaves. Adrien's buyer Sam (Seymour Hertzberg) flirts with Haydée, and Haydée smashes the valuable vase, although Adrien already has the money and he leaves with Haydée.

On the way back to the villa Haydée meets two men see knows, goes over to their car, and meanwhile Adrien is blocking the road, atlhough he doesn't pull over but just keeps on driving to the villa on his own, makes a call for the first flight to London and there we have it: temptation avoided, but anyway how long would the relationship have lasted?

*Rohmer has somehing of a preocupation with bech relationships.