A Summer's Tale

1996 1h 54m FR

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 283

RomanceDramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Awaiting his girlfriend Léna’s arrival at the Breton seaside resort of Dinard, Gaspard befriends — and flirts heavily with — two other women, the companionable ethnology student Margot and the sensual townie Solène, making for a rather complicated situation when Léna finally arrives.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Melvil Poupaud
Gaspard
Amanda Langlet
Margot
Gwenaëlle Simon
Solène
Aurelia Nolin
Léna
Aimé Lefèvre
Newfoundlander
Alain Guellaff
Uncle
Evelyne Lahana
Aunt
Yves Guérin
Accordionist

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Éric Rohmer
Writers: Éric Rohmer
Languages: French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Part of the "Tales of the Four Seasons" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Éric Rohmer, shot by Diane Baratier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Sébastien Erms. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mary Stephen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Melvil Poupaud and Amanda Langlet and Gwenaëlle Simon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0115940 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Éric Rohmer directs. Diane Baratier behind the camera. Sébastien Erms scores. Mary Stephen cuts. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

130 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Tales of the Four Seasons" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Éric Rohmer, shot by Diane Baratier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Sébastien Erms. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mary Stephen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Melvil Poupaud and Amanda Langlet and Gwenaëlle Simon carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0115940 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "beach", "waitress", "holiday", "coming of age".
10Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Diane Baratier
Original score: Sébastien Erms
Editing: Mary Stephen
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
IMDB: A Summer's Tale (1996)

Part of

Tales of the Four Seasons

The seasons may change, but the follies of the heart are constant in this ineffably lovely quartet of films by Eric Rohmer, one of cinema’s most perceptive chroniclers of the pangs and perils of romance. Set throughout France, Tales of the Four Seasons is a cycle to stand alongside the director’s two earlier acclaimed film series, Six Moral Tales and Comedies and Proverbs. By turns comic and melancholic, breezy and richly philosophical, these bittersweet tales of love, longing, and the inevitable misunderstandings that shape human relationships probe the most complex of emotions with the utmost grace.