Eric Rohmer constructed his latest film, from 2004, on his old theme: the danger of falling for a false love while awaiting a real one.

NEWYORKER: Triple Agent

But he ends up so far from this theme that a potentially glorious scene, a sermon on water as a metaphor for love in the mission church of St Xavier del Bac, becomes an aside in a chapter about junk food and barrios.

ECONOMIST: Travels in the desert