For my next big project, I’m going to continue my slow speed chases through some more films that I love. I’m going to pick from my all time top 150 list, but I will come nowhere close to writing about all of them … we’ll see how much energy I have for the project as it rolls on, I’m thinking right now it will probably be a 20 movie project.

My first movie is going to be one from French director Eric Rohmer, his 1988 film “The Green Ray.” Rohmer seems like a natural filmmaker to take up after Kieslowski. Both filmmakers are interested in moral approaches to human problems. This led Kieslowski to tackle the Dekalog, while Rohmer had his own series of films he entitled his Moral Tales.

The filmmakers are also alike in that they like to package their movies thematically. The group of movies that “The Green Ray” belongs to is called his Comedies and Proverbs. I don’t think you could call “The Green Ray” a comedy, so I suppose it’s something of a proverb, although what message he had in mind does not come immediately to mind.

Like Kieslowski, luck and coincidence play a major role in Rohmer’s films. And as I mentioned when writing about “The Double Life of Veronique,” numerous actors have appeared in both Rohmer and Kieslowski films. But having said that, no cast or crew from “The Green Ray” participated in any Kieslowski film.

In fact, I have not found any Kieslowski interviews where he ever mentions Rohmer, so it’s impossible to count him as an influence. On the other hand, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the director of “Drive My Car,” lists Rohmer as one of his primary influences. (Oddly enough, Hamaguchi never counts Kieslowski as an influence, even though their films seem even more similar.)

Few people at the time of the release of the film would call “The Green Ray” one of Rohmer’s best, but the movie has become increasingly respected within the filmmaker’s corpus and many now consider it his best, topping even his most famous works from the late 60s and early 70s like “My Night at Maud’s” and “Claire’s Knee.”

The reason for that is the unforgettable final shot of the film, a piece of cinematography that is magical and impossible to explain, it must be experienced. Rohmer’s movies are usually best known for dialogue — these are very verbal films. But “The Green Ray” is different. Perhaps the film’s reputation has grown as high definition video has become more the norm. Watching “The Green Ray” on a VHS cassette or even a DVD, you can’t fully appreciate the beauty of what Director of Photography Sophie Maintigneux captured, especially at the magic moment.

But a discussion of that shot is a couple weeks away. Before we get to the film’s metaphysical beauty, we must explore its psychological complexity, beginning with the fascinating character named Delphine.