Jerôme (Jean-Claude Brialy) asks a provocative question — “Why would I tie myself to one woman if I were interested in others?” — even as he plans on marrying a diplomat’s daughter by summer’s end. Before the wedding, however, Jerôme spends his July at a lakeside boarding house nursing crushes on the 16-year-old Laura (Béatrice Romand) and, more tantalizingly, Laura’s long-legged, blond stepsister, Claire (Laurence de Monaghan). Baring her knee on a ladder under a blooming cherry tree, Claire unwittingly instigates Jerôme’s moral crisis and creates one of French cinema’s most enduring moments.

Intro and discussion by Robert Garrick, attorney, board member of the French-heritage organization Les Amis, and former contributor to the davekehr.com film blog.

Visit The Lens for an essay on Claire's Knee by Robert Garrick