Conte d'été

Conte d'ét

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Price: $108.25   

Conte d' té Review

Summer's Tale (1996), dir. Eric Rohmer (Winstar DVD, 2000)Reminds somewhat of Claire's Knee, similar lush landscapes, water resort type of setting, plenty of gorgeous beaches somewhere in the Atlantic side of France (Brittany), and of course typical Rohmer cinematography (Diane Baratier). Immensely entertaining, despite minimal action.This is the third of a series of Tales of the Four Seasons (reminding of Vivaldi's?), and possibly the most enticing. Like most Rohmer's stories, it isone of relationships on the verge of dissolution, or, rather, in a state a flux. No relationship in a Rohmer tale seems to be of a permanent nature-all seem to evolve, shift, fade, and come to life only to fade again, like the direction of a wind on the sand dunes.The format is similar to the others: one male, making choices between several females; one female choosing and rejecting suitors (Autumn Tale). Almost always, it seems a question of choices. In this case, a young man, Gaspard (Melvil Poupard), arrives at this seaside resort, to compose music on his guitar, while awaiting the arrival of his girlfriend Lena, who is to be there soon in the company of some cousins. Gaspard seems to have nothing else in mind but his music, but he does attract the attention of a young waitress, Margot (Amanda Langlet), with whom he starts a sort of platonic relationship. He has a Master's in mathematics, and she is a Ph.D. in ethnology. They take several walks together and exchange ideas, but no romance evolves. Margot is delicate, respecting his attachment to another girl, but evidently she likes him. Another girl, Solene (Gwenaelle Simon), vacationing there with her uncle and aunt and some friends, makes a stronger and more physical impression on him. But he is held back when she tells him that "on principle" she doesn't sleep with anyone on a first date. She in an in-between situation, having just "dumped" two former boyfriends. Solene does like Gaspard, though, but when he tells her he is waiting for Lena, she attempts to force him to make a decision: either her or me. Gaspard, not used to making decisions, wavers. Lena arrives in the meantime, but she, quite unlike the other two girls, is not always as well disposed and friendly. Her moods change constantly, "black and white" Gaspard calls them. She walks away in a fit of temper, so Gaspard now falls back on Solene, and when she turns moody, goes back to Margot, who by now feels like being the "substitute of a substitute." Gaspard only has a couple of days left for his vacation (the dates of each episode are flashed on the screen), but then Solene calls him and asks for a date, at 8:30 that evening; but then a few moments later, Lena, evidently in a turnabout "white" mood, also asks for a date, at 8:00 that evening, and he calls Margot to ask her advice; Margot, however is busy with her waitress chores-she will call back. Gaspard panics; what is he to do with three dates? But a phone call comes in the meantime, a friend telling Gaspard he has secured the purchase of a stereo he needed for a bargain price ($600 down immediately), which Gaspard has to borrow from his first month's upcoming job. This call saves him. Why bother about keeping his dates with these silly girls when his glorious music career is so promising? He is happy! One phone call has disentangled all these relationships.He does tell Margot, though, who understands, and takes him to the boat. Ideally, she is could have been the one.All three girls are attractive, Solene being the sexiest and the most evidently certain of her allurements. Lena has the most perfect body but the hardest of dispositions. Margot, somewhat chubby, is still good-looking, nicely disposed, and brainier than Gaspard. All are female temptations for this indecisive young Don Juan, who possesses all his male desires, but who understands nothing of what is called commitment.The story is not a sad one; Rohmer is adepts in avoiding the pitfalls of sentimentality. There is not love at first sight (or the second one), and physical passion is not the animalistic urge one sees in most American movies-whether the male is Michael Douglas or Brad Pitt. Gaspard is not particularly controlled at certain moments, but his emotional side is not ardent-taking a back seat to his "plans" (never quite stated). His relationships with these girls are fluid, more matters of the moment than what is seen as passionate preludes to triumphant love. But that is what the stuff of life is made of. Love here is not as in Jane Austen stories: a commitment that will eventually define moral character as well. In Austen, commitment to a person one loves becomes the primary consideration. Romantic love also thrives on that. It presupposes a sterling honesty, a purity of feeling if you like, that must remain unadulterated through thin and thick. But Rohmer does not give us romantic characters, and rather bursts the balloon of that delusion called romantic love-though does incline to the platonic variety; the latter suits his cast members better-a great deal of talk of friendship in the movie. Friendship (platonic preference) stays, does not demand or brawl as an obligation, and does not drag the body into the messy relationship. Gaspard actually does develop a platonic setup with Margot-and both are forced to be content with that, having not achieved the other sort. They will see each other again, somewhere.Beautifully told. An unpretentious tale that does not promise much, and what it delivers is an extra reward. Watching such a movie is a constant pleasure, one that one does not want to give up. All the moments between these four people are precious, nothing is wasted. The groupings are quite special-mostly two people against a lushly photographed background-waves, a flat and wide beach, a room, some country paths, and some scenes on a boat. As usual, there is no musical score, but there is music, only that which is heard in the background or sung by the participants. Complex simplicity, and unpretentious beauty-Rohmer trademarks. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews� Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment�Comment (1)

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