I wonder why this was made, other than to show us a bit of Jean Luc-Goddard as an actor. Charlotte banters with this guy. He invites himself to her home, even though she is in a rush. They talk about the other woman, Clara, who leaves them a few seconds into the thing. He wants to kiss her. She wants to have lunch, warming up a piece of steak from the refrigerator. The discussion isn't all that dynamic, and the cinematography isn't anything interesting. Had someone besides Rohmer directed this, it probably wouldn't have attracted attention. Anyway, a curiosity out of the way. I guess if it has a positive thing going for it, it would be to check out some Goddard again.
Plot summary
Charlotte is leaving. Before catching her train, she goes to her apartment for a quick snack -- a steak, as it happens. Walter accompanies her; the little time Charlotte will take to prepare and eat her steak represents his last opportunity to patch things up with her. A tall order, given the utterly unromantic circumstances...
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I Wonder if the Steak Was Tough
Purely enjoyable
Eric Rohmer's short "Présentation ou Charlotte et son steak" (something like "Presentation or Charlotte and her steak") follows Walter, Charlotte and Clara on an ordinary day simply walking on a snowy place. Then, Walter takes Charlotte to her home, spends some time with her with one single purpose: to kiss her, telling he's in love with her but also provoking her by telling that he likes Clara best. Charlotte refuses giving him a kiss, and only offers a piece of her steak as lunch. In the meantime, they have some conversations about trivial things while he still tries to get a kiss from the girl.
Here's an unusual and forgettable short film whose major attractive is to see Jean-Luc Godard as an actor, and he's a good one. There's nothing so interesting about the story, although it's quite charming, a little bit funny but nothing memorable or dignifying of a great director. It was filmed in 1951 with two actresses, who were later dubbed by another (and more famous!) actresses, Anna Karina and Stéphane Audran, so the only one who's really present is Godard.
It's well made, very nice, enjoyable, exclusively and purely that! 6/10
Early Rohmer
After seeing four of Eric Rohmer's films (this one being the fourth),I've become a pretty big fan of his work. However, two of the films of his that I've seen came across as a little bland, even if they had good things about them. Those two films are "Suzanne's Career" and "Presentation, or Charlotte and Her Steak" (the film I'm reviewing right now),which both earned a 6/10 rating from me.
The main issue I have with these two films is that they don't really have much that stuck out as being particularly good about them! In "Presentation, or Charlotte and Her Steak" nothing really interesting happens. It's all pretty much one conversation, that ends in romance, and while it's possible to take that concept and make something really interesting and beautiful out of it, Rohmer doesn't really do it here. Sure, there's some pretty witty dialogue and it's a very well made short, but other than that, there isn't all too much worth mentioning.
Overall, if you want to see EVERY Rohmer film, you might as well check it out.