For nearly half a century of film-making, Eric Rohmer has been faithful to his two mistresses: the streets of Paris, the beaches of the provinces. In dozens of films, including My Night at Maud's, Pauline at the Beach and A Tale of Summer, this dogged miniaturist has focused on the rituals of romance, on the nuances of pursuit and evasion in the perpetual-student class. Rendezvous in Paris (1994, just released in the U.S.) is a miniature in miniature: three shorts about men picking up women. It's one of Rohmer's loveliest caprices.
Each sketch pivots on a chance meeting that leads to...