Critical Reception
The film earned strong reviews when it was first released. Vincent Canby described it as "effortlessly witty" and "effervescent" in his New York Times review. He concluded, "I hope that Pauline at the Beach will win new admirers for Mr. Rohmer, one of the most original and elegant film makers at work today in any country....Mr. Rohmer's works could not exist in any other form. Their particular character would float off any printed page. They combine images, language, action and cinematic narrative fluidity to create a kind of cinema that no one else has ever done before. Pauline at the Beach is another rare Rohmer treat."
Referencing the Chrétien de Troyes quote that opens the film, "A wagging tongue bites itself", Pauline Kael wrote, "Pauline, who is the moral center of the film, doesn't carry tales. She listens to Marion deceiving herself and switching from one attitude to another as she tries to manipulate Henri. Pauline takes in what people say and what they do; she doesn't add to the talk with what she has heard."
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