A Summer's Tale (1996)

Director: Éric Rohmer

Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, Gwenaëlle Simon

Runtime: 113 minutes

Synopsis: A shy maths graduate takes a holiday in Dinard before starting his first job. He hopes his sort-of girlfriend will join him, but soon strikes up a friendship with another girl working in town. She in turn introduces him to a further young lady who fancies him. Thus the quiet young lad finds he is having to do some tricky juggling in territory new to him.

Verdict: Gaspard, a young secluded math graduate with a penchant for music, takes a short holiday in a small commune in northwestern France to work on his compositions and take advantage of the gorgeous beaches there before starting his first job. His plans are quickly challenged by his introduction to Margot, a local waitress/ethnologist who pushes him out of his comfort zone by becoming his friend and initiating multiple conversations about all sorts of topics over the course of his stay. It’s a wholesome watch, reminiscent of the Before Trilogy at times, that becomes a little more complicated when a couple of other characters enter the dance led by our two protagonists, prompting Gaspard to make some decisions he wasn’t ready to make just yet. And that’s when the main themes of the film start to slowly reveal themselves.“A Summer’s Tale”, just like every other Éric Rohmer picture, nails its realistic touch while maintaining a vivid atmosphere, but it’s its exploration of relationships that makes such a compelling experience. Its main aim is to showcase how people adjust their ideals depending on the people they’re seeing and argue that the term “relationship” doesn’t hold a conventional definition.It’s a fantastic watch that succeeds at being light despite dealing with such complex matters. The gorgeous landscapes of Dinard and Saint-Malo are just the icing on a cake that will surely leave you full and satisfied.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10