was this character established at all before he and Christine sneak off after the play? Circumstances had me watch the movie with a 4 hour interruption at about the 50 minute mark, and I was a bit confused.
Thanks for any help...
I had the same problem, but had the opportunity to rewind. There is some establishment, but it's very minimal.
shareYes very minimal....it seems the only thing Renoir really wanted you to get from the character was that he was just as bad as the others....and also that his name is ST. AUBIN.
Don't tease me about my hobbies, I don't you about being an a$$hole
The commentary on the Criterion DVD points out that backstage Genevieve threw her arms around Robert's neck, and in a pissed-off reaction Christine grabbed the closest male (which happened to be St. Aubin). This all happens in the same shot, with Genevieve and Robert slightly left and back, while Christine and St. Aubin are slightly right and fore.
It's an example of Renior's use of deep focus, having to watch more than one location in a shot to get the full import. The fact there was minimal setup is in fact the point - Christine grabbed someone more or less at random.