Seems to represent Renoir bringing his classic concerns into a modern format - the movie begins with a (slightly leaden) satire of modern media, and the plot relies heavily on artificial insemination, the politics of a modern Europe, the politics of image, and preeminently the relationship between science (here representing repression and fastidiousness and self-denial) and nature (here representing a rustic, lusty, idyllic, semi-slapstick integrity). That sounds a bit condescending, and indeed it s an old man's movie. But it's also a very good one, with superb choreography of the elements and many moments of bliss (the shot of the loosened-up professor beaming as he rides a motor scooter is priceless). Sadly, it s hard to get beyond the wretched quality of the Eastmancolor print - there s virtually no green left in it, just a sickly pink. A restored print would surely add to the movie s emotional lushness, perhaps revealing whole layers of additional subtlety in the design, and giving it a sharpened modernity. Even as it stands, a beguiling film.
Review of Picnic on the Grass
