Yes, it's playful. Yes, it's pretty. Kind of like an abstract painting that no one can make sense of, yet some people insist it's a masterpiece. The difference is that you aren't forced to look at an abstract painting for three hours and thirteen minutes. Scaled down to 90 minutes, Celine and Julie Go Boating may well have been an enjoyable experience, but at this running time the story loses any sense of structure, the characters become annoying and some viewers may begin to feel like they're wasting a lot of time.
As an exercise in turning on a camera and making it up as he went along, the director Rivette proved that playful self-indulgence has its limits. Listening to Celine and Julie scream and giggle their way through the last hour of the film, like two 12-year olds at a pajama party, becomes excruciating long before the final credits - at long last - begin to roll.
As an exercise in turning on a camera and making it up as he went along, the director Rivette proved that playful self-indulgence has its limits. Listening to Celine and Julie scream and giggle their way through the last hour of the film, like two 12-year olds at a pajama party, becomes excruciating long before the final credits - at long last - begin to roll.