The Green Ray (1986)

Paulette Christlein: in Biarritz

Quotes 

• Yve in Biarritz : Do you know what Jules Verne said? He said when you see the green ray, you can read your own feelings and those of others.

  Mrs. Christlein in Biarritz : That's marvelous. So we would have heightened perceptions on seeing the green ray.

  Yve in Biarritz : Which is what happens to the heroine, although she never sees the green ray. But, who manages to understand her own feelings and those of the young man she meets.

• Isa in Biarritz : Have you seen the green ray?

  Mrs. Christlein in Biarritz : I have. three times in fact. The first time I was eight or nine. That was at La Baule. Do you know it?

  Isa in Biarritz : No.

  Mrs. Christlein in Biarritz : There is a very, very beautiful Long Beach, seven kilometers, I think. I was with my father at the time and he told me about Jules Verne's book. And it was a very clear day. The air was dry. There were no clouds. He said to me perhaps we'll be in luck. I did see it that time. But only for a split second. When the sun set on the horizon, at the last stage, there was a sort of shaft of light, pale green in color and like the blade of a sword along the horizon. It was very pretty, but very short.

• Dr. Christlein in Biarritz : Look at the sun there. It is not exactly where you see it. In reality, it is a little bit lower down. Because the sun's rays curve in the atmosphere. The closer the sun comes to the horizon, the greater the diffraction in the atmosphere. And when the sun seems to touch the horizon, in reality, it is already behind the horizon. So the solar disk appears slightly raised. Perhaps half a degree. That's the first reason why the green ray exists. The second reason is that there is also a dispersion of colors. Like in a prism. When light passes through a prism, a spectrum is created. The color that is most curved is blue.

  Maria in Biarritz : I was going to say green.

  Dr. Christlein in Biarritz : Green is close to blue, isn't it. There is red, yellow, then green. And blue and violet. Blue and violet are very weak. The colors we can observe very well are yellow and green. When the sun sets, at that moment the disk is slightly raised. But the blue colors and green colors are higher than the red colors. When the disk disappears on the horizon, the last ray we perceive is the green.

  Mrs. Christlein in Biarritz : And a lovely green it is.