Genou de Claire, Le (1970) - Claire's Knee – Movie 《克拉之膝》

A 1970 film by French director and writer Éric Rohmer, it is the fifth movie in the series of his famous Six Moral Tales.

“A diplomat Jerôme on holidays, on the verge of getting married, encounters two young girls, 16 years old Laura and her step-sister, 18 years old Claire. During three weeks, he will try to seduce them in order to prove to himself that he is ready for marriage and cannot fall in love with another woman”


The movie is praised as a delicate and precious work of art through character’s conversations and interactions. I just wish I knew French so I could under the delicacy of the movie better.


Lake Annecy, France

The film was taken by the Lake Annecy, the 2nd largest lake in France. I have never been to France, it however,remind me of the Lake Winnipesaukee, the biggest lake in New Hampshire, my favorite destination during summer, where another great movie The Golden Pond (金色池塘) was taken.



Cinematography of the lake and the French Alps in the summer time is luscious in this movie. The color palette in the film is a masterpiece of style and scheme, just like Monet’s painting. Watching the movie made me get into the European mood and yearn for a nice summer vacation there.



The knee

Before I watched the movie, I stared at the title and wondering what on earth did the "knee" to do with this movie. Well, it is because Jerôme is hopelessly attracted to Claire's knee. "Every woman has her vulnerable point. For some, it is the nape of the neck, the waist, the hands. For Claire, in that position, in that light, it was her knee." He says so.

Baring her knee on a ladder under a blooming cherry tree, Claire unwittingly instigates Jerôme’s moral crisis and creates both one of French cinema’s most enduring moments and what has become the iconic image of Rohmer’s Moral Tales.



The movie contains Claire's knee snap shots in different positions. Can you see anything extraordinary here? I see nothing but skinny legs. Finally, Jerôme fulfilled his yearnings by placing his hand upon Claire's knee. LOL!



Let's take a further look at this movie's wardrobe. The setting of the movie laid the tone of the wardrobe: basically countryside, vacation mood, casual, European and rich upper class look.

The Hats

Everybody wears hats in this movie. Maybe it is because of being on vacation, maybe being French? Anyway, the hats look great here.


Girls and their dresses:

The girls are indeed very pretty. Laura is clever, slyly sophisticated, vulnerable and honest. In contrast Claire is a long-legged blond, superficial beauty.

The wardrobe for Laura is simple, boyish, just right for a 16 year old girl and her character: the button decoration on the black skirt is kinda unique; the yellow sweater and short pant with black knee sock are very nice for hiking in a sunny day; love the simple red sweater dress with belt - a casual holiday look; they sunbath by the lake in front of the boardinghouse all the time. Aren't you jealous?!


No wonder Jerôme was immediately attracted by Claire as soon as they met even though he just showed affection to Laura. He can't move his eyes from her. Claire, as Laura's elder sister, is more mature, feminine and a bit distant:

First, it is this turquoise bikini that exposes her perfect skinny figure:


Then she threw on a matching color hat and a navy knit cover-up effortlessly and beautifully:


This blue mini dress with matching hat is absolutely adorable! Here also comes my favorite part of the movie - a perfect description of tranquil country life, with mom reading in the yard and children picking cherries. I can't help but recall when I was a kid, my mom used to climb to the big date tree to pick dates for us in our country house yard with my grandmother shouting at her because she didn't use a ladder. And I stood under the tree facing the sky and waiting for my mom to throw me the biggest ripe dates. How much I miss those old times with my folks! My mom was very young and energetic back then and my father always called her a monkey. (Here, I wish my mom will recover soon, very soon...)


Claire and her boyfriend, a very sweet young couple: preppy tennis outfits, folklore pattern print party dress and shirt... they do like match-matchy - so cute!


A simple black dress with a golden belt and long necklace: fabulous with or without a white jacket.


Claire’s mom is a stylish, sophisticated, rich French lady and a career woman:


And last, Jerôme’s female writer friend, a romantic yet intellectual woman:

Connecting The Dots

It was almost 15 years ago when I was a freshman as a fashion major student in China, I first watched movie Bathing Beauty (出水芙蓉) and madly fell in love with the beautiful clothes owned by the leading character Caroline Brooks. In a degree that I adored the white shawl she wore to the poolside so much, I watched the movie three times and made a similar shawl for myself. It is also from then and this movie, fuchsia has been my favorite color, till today.


My choice of Fashion major was purely a childhood intuition. Fashion just started in China back then and there was no much inspiration we could get. Hollywood movies were a source but they were rare in China. Language was another barrier for us to understand the movies well because English listening comprehension skills even for college students were largely poor, needless to say culture or dressing etiquette.


During the next ten years, I didn’t follow the original institution to become a fashion designer, but I did manage a career revolving around ready-to-wear business. Like everybody born in mid 70’s in China, I went through college graduation, changing jobs, studying English, applying graduate schools overseas and realizing the dream of crossing Pacific. In spite of these distractions, a passion for fashion has always been there for me just like an old friend from now and then reminds who I am: no matter it was the temptation to get that glorious $100K+ consulting or investment banking job as an MBA student or struggle to define myself while going through culture shock in another country.


One day I woke up and found myself armed with abundant resources and capabilities to get around to the language and culture, I discovered my passion for fashion again - I want to interpret the fashion from classic movies in a way that is easy to understand and get inspiration from for those who haven’t been able to do so. And thus my blog http://whenfashionmeetsmovies.blogspot.com/ was born.


“You've got to find what you love,” Steve Jobs told us three stories in his graduation speech for us. One of them was about connecting the dots. He said: “you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

(Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005)

When I look my life backwards according to Jobs’ suggestion, I did find some dots were connected in some way! Find a passion, stick to it and connect dots. Life sometimes brings me nowhere and I’ll always believe the passion is the guidance and all the dots will be connected in the future.

High Society (1956) - Movie 《上流社会》

A hip, witty musical version of Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story:


"Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly 格蕾丝·凯莉) is a rich Rhode Island socialite whose romance with neighbor and jazz musician C.K. Dexter Haven (Bing Crosby 宾．克罗斯拜) has broken up. Now she is engaged to be married to the stuffy but appropriate George Kittredge. But when a dashing journalist (Frank Sinatra) arrives to cover the society wedding, Tracy's initial desire to make life difficult for this interloper is complicated by her attraction for him. And things are made all the more complicated by Dexter Haven's refusal to give up on Tracy."

Jazz, haute couture, Newport and legendary Grace Kelly are many highlights of this great musical. I enjoyed the movie enormously. I know little about jazz. I have to say my enthusiasm to exploring jazz music was immediately kindled by the croon of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong also his band throughout the movie. A jazzed-up version of the wedding processional at the end of the movie was a blast!


The movie was taken in scenic, elitist Newport, Rhode Island （罗德岛）, which happens to be only 2 hours drive from where I live now. It is one of my favorite short excursions on east coast. The cliff walk and jazz festival are great weekend getaways. Among a lot of grand and beautiful things, I especially like the hydrangeas surrounding the walks and gardens during summer.




Tracy Lord is a snobbish, spoiled ice queen and perfectionist portrayed by GK. GK looked stunning and aloof in this character. This is also GK’s last film role. She was engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco at the time. Actually, the enormous engagement diamond ring displayed in the film was her own, given to her by her Prince fiancé.



Now I invite you to enjoy every piece of delicacy of this musical:

Impeccable wardrobe:

GK, as a fashion icon, elegant and inspiring, is goddess of fashion brand Hermès （爱马仕）:

• It was reported she used an Hermès scarf as a sling when she broke her arm.
• The Kelly bag by Hermès, was renamed for Grace Kelly after she was photographed carrying one while stepping off a plane.
• The classic head-cover of a silk scarf crossed under the chin and knotted at the side or nape of the neck is universally known as the "Grace Kelly".

GK pulled off this look fabulously. The whole outfit in camel revealed her understated elegance. The brown leather belt adds a bit equestrian look. The high light of the red scarf and shoes (Hermès?) are just right. In real life, GK’s style was a reflection of her own personality - genuinely lovely inside and out:


The baby blue dress: the color combination blue and white,stripe and little bow ties add a preppy look to this extravagant haute couture dress.



Tracy unwraps Dexter's (ex-husband) wedding gift, the model of their honeymoon yacht, and fondly remembers the first few romantic weeks of her and Dexter's marriage. This white swimsuit is a fashion master piece.


George (soon-to-be husband) interrupts her reverie to promise unfailing adoration of his "goddess." Upset that she might be seen as distant, Tracy demands that she be treated as a real woman. George couldn't understand her feelings whatsoever.


A drunken Tracy takes Mike on a drive to tell him that his presumptions about the Newport upper class are unfair. The silk lining in colored stripes gives this otherwise plain white coat a delicious taste. And the yellow silk shirt dress is just right for pretty and lady-like Grace Kelly .


Surprisingly enough, GK was spotted on a yellow brocade cheongsam旗袍 inspired robe here! Quite a few western movies stars tried on mandarin style dresses, I have to say Grace Kelly was one of the best to dress to the spirit.


The gray-over-rose chiffon gown appliquéd with rhinestones and pink and white embroidered flowers by Helen Rose Tracy wore at her bachelorette party. She once wore this dress on a visit to the White House with President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy.


The most glamorous and stylish wedding dress. Unexpected, tasteful and just gorgeous! "Watch out that first step, it is going to be a little bumpy!". The father said.


The crystals GK wore in this movie was Swarovski.


Jazz

High Society Calypso (Louis Armstrong)


Little One (Bing Crosby) - Crosby tosses off a sweet ditty for Tracy's s premature kid sister


Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Frank Sinatra & Celeste Holm) - Sinatra and Holm take potshots at extravagant life style of the idle riches


True Love (Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly) – Kelly, in a flashback, recalls their honeymoon


You're Sensational (Frank Sinatra) - Sinatra, smitten with Kelly, expresses his feelings

Samantha(Bing Crosby) – Crosby’s love song for Kelly


Now You Has Jazz (Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong) – Crosby attempts, with Armstrong, to explain contemporary music


Well, Did You Evah? (Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby) - The film's highlight of the fabulous and funny duet between Crosby and Sinatra, rich with sly comments on Crosby's famous fortune, and Sinatra's 'new' style of crooning


Mind If I Make Love to You (Frank Sinatra) – Sinatra’s love song for Kelly