First of all, let's say that Eric Rohmer deserves a 7 foot, solid gold Oscar, because he is one of the very last directors NOT to use Hollywood music. Or better: elevator muzak. He does not use music at all, unless someone within the story is singing or playing or listening.

No need here for external cues to explain to the viewer what's happening on screen. What a terrible shame Rohmer is the last to do so !!!

The cinematography of this SUMMER TALE flows magnificently, playing with the backdrop of beautiful Brittany. There are no hard or harsh cuts; no need for welding goggles to sit through this movie !

This is a small yet honest tale: the protagonists talk, rather than babble or throw comic book lines at each other.

A SUMMER'S TALE is not an epic, nor depicting a world changing event or some bigger than life humdrum. In all its subtlety and sincerity it is something that could happen to all of us.

Thank you Monsieur Eric Rohmer for yet another wonderful film.

Eric Rohmer's characters are often irritating and insufferable, yet they can likewise be charming and utterly irresistible. In A Tale of Summer, Gaspard (Melvil Poupaud) acts like a grown up teenager who likes to play at love but is unwilling to make commitments, finding himself unable to honestly express his feelings to three women he meets at a seaside resort. Like so many Rohmer films, the story takes place at a time when the characters have nothing to do but meet and talk and idle the days away, and you can be certain there is plenty of talk. Gaspar is a tall, slender young guitar player who comes to Brittany on vacation from his job as a mathematician and spends time by himself composing and playing music.

Pausing long enough to get out and see the town, Gaspar meets Margot (Amanda Langlet) an ethnologist working in a local restaurant. He develops a relationship with Margot but it is all very platonic as Margot is waiting for her boyfriend to return from the Peace Corps and Gaspard says that he is waiting for the arrival of his girl friend Lena, vacationing with her cousins in Spain. Margot and Gaspard take long walks in the French countryside and engage in witty and intelligent conversation about relationships, jealousy, and sex and they seem well suited for each other but each avoids an emotional connection. At Margot's suggestion Gaspar meets another girl, Solene (Gwenaelle Simon),at a disco and they share a love for music but Solene becomes demanding when Gaspar is reluctant to make a commitment to take her on a trip to a nearby island.

His ego is strengthened by Solene's attraction to him, but when Lena finally shows up, he must deal with her mercurial temperament, especially when she tells him that he is not worthy of her. Eventually, the young man digs himself quite a hole as he makes the same promise to all three women and is fearful of confronting them to explain. A Tale of Summer is one of Rohmer's lighter films and I found it to be a lovely and engaging way to spend two hours. Though his characters have plenty of flaws that are all too apparent, Rohmer does not judge or evaluate them but accepts them the way that they are -- so, for all their faults, I suppose we should as well.

A Summer's Tale, or the French "Conte d'été"... wonder if it has the same double entendré en francias. Gaspard is vacationing by the sea before starting his new engineer job, and he hopes to meet up with the girl he had known before. He is head over heels for her, or at least the idea of her, and pines for her. Of course he meets up with a local girl, who may or may not be just a friend... and suddenly, there's yet more opportunities and connections in the picture. This story starts out as a lesson in bad timing; you meet someone and have immediate sparks, but you are not completely available and open to the new acquaintance. This part of the adventure spoke to me personally, as I was in the same position. Then, things get more complicated, and Gaspard is more of a player than he let on originally. The local girl Margot is brutally honest, and patient, up to a point. She tells it like it is, and doesn't play games, which Gaspard admires. Now it's all up to Gaspard... who will he choose? How honest will he be with his friends and lovers? Fun, interesting, intellectual story of relationships, honesty, missed connections. Very well done. One of the "Stories of Four Seasons" by Éric Rohmer, who passed away in 2010. Well written, well directed. Currently showing on Fandor Channel. Stars Melvil Poupaud as Gaspard.