A Summer's Tale

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Conte d'été
A Summer's Tale FilmPoster.jpeg
Film poster
Directed byÉric Rohmer
Written byÉric Rohmer
Produced by
Margaret Ménégoz
StarringMelvil Poupaud
Amanda Langlet

Cinematography
Edited by
Music byPhilippe Eidel
Distributed byLes Films du Losange
Release date
5 June 1996 (1996-06-05)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box office$198,126 (only United States)[1]

A Summer's Tale (French: Conte d'été) is a 1996 French romance film directed by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in his Contes des quatre saisons (Tales of the Four Seasons) series, which includes A Tale of Springtime (1990), Conte d'été, Autumn Tale (1998), and A Tale of Winter (1992). Conte d'été stars Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, , and .

The plot is loosely based on Rohmer's experiences as a younger film student and his various relationships.

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

Plot[]

Gaspard, a young mathematics graduate and ambitious musician, is on summer holiday by the seaside in Dinard, a small Breton seaside resort. He is able to stay in his friends empty flat and plans to work on composing music during his entire stay. Gaspard is fixated on his music and does the bare minimum to interact with other people and the local beaches. The movie has very little interactive dialog and plot until he meets a cheerful waitress, named Margot, at her aunt's restaurant. The next day, Gaspard runs into Margot at the beach by coincidence. Despite his relative indifference to her, she presses him into conversation and sitting with her at the beach. Over a period of days, the couple becomes fast friends and they have daily walks around the local ruins and gardens. During their conversations, the discussions migrate into relationships and their academic degrees. He is a math graduate who desires a low-key teaching job so he can focus on his music. Margot is an ethnologist, working with some of the locals in her spare time. Gaspard apparently has an on again/off again girlfriend, Lena, who is planning to visit Dinard although the timeline is unknown. Margot apparently has just broken up with a boyfriend because their future careers are incompatible. Gaspard constantly speaks of his confused relationship with Lena, to the patient Margot who offers advice on life and love. Gaspard, a romantic incompetent, doesn't know what to make of this close relationship and clumsily attempts to kiss Margot on one of their outings. It is not clear if Margot is trying to cultivate a friendship or not interested in a quick fling, but she brushes the attempt off. Gaspard assumes Margot is not attracted to him and they continue their platonic relationship. Margot takes the apathetic Gaspard on many outings, including a research trip to a local fisherman's house to discuss maritime folk songs. Ironically Gaspard is inspired by the tales of the sea and writes his own folk music-a diversion from his typical music.

The plot becomes complicated when another local girl in Margot's social circle, Solene, becomes attracted to Gaspard's moody and artistic personality. Solene is more sensual, confident, and straightforward in her approach with Gaspard. She conveniently runs into Gaspard at the beach on one of the days when Margot is not available and seems to have an entire day's itinerary planned out for them at another beach across the bay. Everything is staged perfectly for a romantic rendezvous. Solene's uncle has a house and a boat. Solene, a former choir singer, also shows interest in Gaspard's music when he plays the guitar for her while lounging in her uncle's living room. Her attraction to him and his musical talent boosts his low self-esteem with women. Solene, who just broke up with two suitors herself has very defined ideas of commitment and the romantic process and Gaspard falls into line as she becomes his best option at the moment. The couple decides to go away on a vacation in to , the town across Brittany when she gets back from work in a week.

Adding to the complication is the arrival of Gaspard's on again/off again girlfriend, the blonde and patrician-class Lena, who finds Gaspard at the beach and appears genuinely excited to see him after the long delay. She is impressed and attracted to his summer tan and clothing and they rekindle interest in each other. Gaspard, who has been flummoxed by Lena's standoffish behavior in the past, sees this as renewed commitment and begins to set the stage to renege on the vacation with Solene. During this time, Margot is in the background attempting to consult with him on his growing dilemma, but it is slowly appearing that she is also part of the Gaspard's romantic dilemma. Whenever he is with one of the girls, he gravitationally moves to the option closest to him at the time. His inability to commit to a choice leads Gaspard into the trap of double-booking the trip with both Lena and Solene (with Solene's pushy insistence that they vacation on the same days as his plans with Lena.)

Later in the week, Lena, who is prone to moody outbursts, then professes that she is not in love with Gaspard and adds him into the general mix of men that she is sick and tired of. Gaspard, seeing Lena as the most difficult challenge, attempts to kiss and get close to her repeatedly (showing signs of true commitment) but she runs away angry that she cannot find a true love companion. It would appear to Gaspard that his only real option is Solene, and at least that decision is showing more promise but on a brief driving trip with Margot, their platonic relationship seems to take a turn towards more romantic feeling. Tired of Lena's moods and Solene's pressure, Gaspard then tells Margot he only wants to vacation and travel with her to Quiberon as he realizes their relationship is more honest and caring.

While Gaspard is writing music he is interrupted by several phone calls. The first is Lena, who apologizes for her poor behavior and re-invites herself back on the vacation trip to the nearby town. Solene is also in the mix, essentially committing to the trip and then hanging up abruptly before any bad news can be relayed to her. Gaspard, who now has an expanded dilemma with Margot also being his chosen travel companion, is saved by a phone call from a business friend who has found a good deal on recording equipment. It's an offer too good to pass up and he decides to leave town and not confront his problems. He assumes Margot will be more forgiving as his friend and confesses he needs to get the music equipment and get away from the whole situation before he has to confront it.

Assuming Margot will always be there for him, she surprises him with the announcement that she is reuniting with her old boyfriend and leaving the seaside town. Gaspard is taken aback, confused and disappointed but the complexities of the problems overwhelm him and he doesn't commit or confess his feelings for Margot. As they walk down the ramp to the ferry they kiss and hug goodbye, with Margot placing great emphasis on the final kiss. It is apparent that both have romantic feelings for each other, but decisions made previously have doomed their relationship to just passing friends. The couple remind each other to remember their intimate walks together on the coast and Gaspard dutifully walks to the ferry with Margot watching him leave for his future in Rennes.

Themes[]

Considered one of the more conventional films by Rohmer(due to its autobiographical nature) with minimal metaphors. The film's youthful characters obsess about their self-image and the overarching theme is how romantic relationships define self image and projection of self worth. Gaspard sees Lena, regardless of her behavior, as a better business decision. Solene is trying to redefine her "townie" image with an upgrade to a moody, mysterious artist, Lena is profoundly dissatisfied with Gaspard being her best option in life. The most confident of the 4 characters, Margot, seems to be patiently waiting for Gaspard to find himself and discover her love.

The filming is mostly on the tourist beaches, except when Margot extracts Gaspard for excursions out of his comfort zone. The beach, water scenes being somewhat closed-minded provincial confinement. We do not see Gaspard's relationships with Solene nor Lena as expanding past the beaches and water sports. Margot and Gaspard's long walks and conversations lead them outside of the tourist areas and outside the town.

Rohmer's use of clothing appears to be a metaphor for the personality types Gaspard has to choose from. Past the first scene at the beach, Gaspard does not see Margot in swimwear from that point forward. Her attire is loose, casual and she appears sloppily in pajamas in a later scene. Lena and Solene's personalities seem to drift with the clothing choices. Lena is accepting, sexual and embracing in her bikini-but cold, uptight and angry in her street clothes. In a similar fashion, the provocative Solene also shows her more ambitious and unattractive qualities when she appears in street clothes.

Cast[]

Release Information[]

In 1996, due to various economic issues with independent movie theaters, home video, the film did not release in the United States along with many other foreign films. It finally had limited release in 2014.

References[]

  1. ^ "A Summer's Tale". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: A Summer's Tale". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

External links[]

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