Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, Gwenaëlle Simon, Aurelia Nolin
Director: Eric Rohmer
Producers: Françoise Etchegaray, Margaret Ménégoz
Screenplay: Eric Rohmer
Cinematography: Diane Baratier
Music: Philippe Eidel, Sébastien Erms
U.S. Distributor: n/a
In French with subtitles
At the age of 76, filmmaker Eric Rohmer probably has a better understanding of young love than most young lovers do. Rohmer, who has been making films for more than four decades, has his share of detractors, but no one currently working in the motion picture industry writes more thought-provoking dialogue, and few filmmakers have the ability to make characters come to life in the same utterly believable, unfeigned manner. Rohmer is without peer when it comes to scripting simple stories about average people wrestling with some of life's greatest challenges: life, love, and what it all means.
A Summer's Tale is the third of four movies in Rohmer's Tale of Four Seasons cycle. The others are, in order of release: A Tale of Springtime (1990), A Tale of Winter (1992), and Autumn's Tale (1998). Curiously, A Summer's Tale was the only one of the three not to receive U.S. distribution. Aside from film festivals and a brief run in New York, A Summer's Tale did not open in the United States, making it the most infrequently viewed of the series on this side of the Atlantic.
With this outing, Rohmer once again proves something he has been doing for his entire career: movies don't have to be about momentous events or larger-than-life characters to be entirely absorbing. A Summer's Tale works because the characters are so real and their circumstances presented in such a natural, unforced manner that we cannot help but be drawn into their lives. Of course, to appreciate a Rohmer film, one has to enjoy dialogue - and lots of it. When it comes to traditional plot development, very little happens during the course of A Summer's Tale. The film is all about characters interacting. What they say - and, in some cases, don't say - forms the framework of the story.
It is worth noting that no one talks during the film's first seven minutes. Although there's plenty of background noise, it takes a while before the first line of dialogue is uttered. During that period, A Summer's Tale develops an almost-hypnotic rhythm, aided by Diane Baratier's unhurried cinematography and Mary Stephen's simple editing. The camera gives us numerous visual clues about the personality of the male lead. By the time he finally speaks, we feel that we know him.
Gaspard (Melvil Poupaud) is a young mathematician/musician vacationing by the seaside in Brittany, France before starting a new job. The film covers roughly three weeks in his life and introduces us to the trio of women he encounters during that time. First is Margot (Amanda Langlet), a cheerful waitress who enjoys spending time with Gaspard, but isn't interested in more than a friendship. Solene (Gwenaëlle Simon) is more affectionate and sensual - she's willing to have a relationship with Gaspard if he will commit to only her. Then there's Lena (Aurelia Nolin), Gaspard's longtime semi-girlfriend whose ambiguous romantic attitude towards him keeps him in a state of constant consternation. As the summer wears on, Gaspard finds himself increasingly torn between the three women, finding each the most appealing when he's with her, and recognizing that the day is fast approaching when he will have to choose.
Gaspard is a genuinely likable (albeit indecisive) young man who finds a different need fulfilled by each of the three women. From Margot, it's friendship; from Solene, it's the promise of sex; and from Lena, it's a romantic fantasy. Rohmer spends a great deal of time exploring the psychology of these relationships, and, unlike in a conventional romance, he never tips the balance heavily in favor of one or another. A Summer's Tale isn't about plot contrivances pushing two individuals together for a happy ending. Instead, it throws four people into a mixing pot and explores what happens when that traditional "happy ending" is not mandated.
Each of the relationships has a slightly different tone. The deepest and most complex is that of Gaspard and Margot. These two have a tremendous amount of chemistry, and it's clear that Gaspard would not be averse to crossing over the line from friendship to romance. Margot's intentions are more murky; she appears to be giving off mixed signals which Gaspard occasionally misinterprets. If not for her boyfriend (who's on an extended trip to South America), we have the feeling that these two would be perfect for each other. As things are, there's a lot going on under the surface. The sexual tension crackles, emphasizing the fact that, in the hands of an expert director, no nudity or graphic skin-to-skin contact is necessary to develop a state of highly charged eroticism.
For Gaspard, Lena is more of an obsession or a fantasy than a real person. Their relationship is stormy and characterized by misunderstandings. One day, they're enjoying each other's companionship; the next, they're railing at each other. There's a basic mismatch of emotion. Gaspard sees Lena as potentially the love of his life. On the other hand, she isn't interested in a deep or lasting relationship with Gaspard. She views him as moody, possessive, and jealous - all three of which he is. Yet, even when Gaspard vows he is through with Lena, his attraction to her inevitably draws him back.
The most open and honest of the three relationships is the one between Gaspard and Solene. There is a genuine affection between these two, and they share some common traits (including a love of music), but it's clear that any liaison will be short-term. Their attraction is primarily physical, and, although Solene has a standing principle of not sleeping with a man on a first date, it seems likely that she has no such compunctions about subsequent encounters.
As is often the case with Rohmer, the director has chosen a completely natural group of young actors to portray his protagonists. Melvil Poupaud, who plays Gaspard, has a fairly long resume, stretching back to the mid-'80s. Amanda Langlet, who worked with Rohmer 13 years earlier as the title character in Pauline At the Beach, is flawless as Margot - it's impossible to see how any man wouldn't be mesmerized by her charm. Both Gwenaëlle Simon and Aurelia Nolin, making their feature debuts, show amazing poise for a first film.
Of the four films that comprise Rohmer's Tale of Four Seasons, A Summer's Tale is arguably the lightest. But, as is always true of the director's work, there's far more going on than is initially apparent. What might at first seem to be a pleasant-but-inconsequential motion picture conceals deep (but not dark) emotional currents. Rohmer has always enjoyed exploring the lighter side of the human psyche, with a special affinity for love. A Summer's Tale finds him plumbing that familiar well one more time with results that are likely to please anyone who isn't averse to a movie where character development and dialogue take precedence over plot contortions and mindless action.
© 2000 James Berardinelli