The fifth of Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" about men's diverted romantic desires confronts an engaged man with two alluring teenage girls. Even as Jean-Claude Brialy's Jerome fixates on Claire's delicate, athletic knee, his interaction with her precocious sister Laura and his writer friend Aurora, a literal teller of tales, turns Claire's Knee into an extended, complex, often smartly comic conversation on the nature of love, desire, and fetishization. Amid all the intimate talk, Nestor Almendros's color cinematography lends a sensual glow to the lakeside location. With Brialy the only professional actor in the cast, novelist Aurora Cornu and Lolita-like Beatrice Romand infuse Aurora and Laura with a wisdom that rings true, despite Laura's youth. Greeted with rave reviews, Claire's Knee was named Best Picture of the year by the National Society of Film Critics.