A Summer's Tale

But all four [Four Seasons] share Rohmer’s principal preoccupation: the continuing quest for romantic ideals, along with the mess people often make when pursuing them.

The film is a welcome tonic to the cinematic landfill that gets pushed into theatres this time of year.

A Summer's Tale is one of those movies where it looks like nothing is happening ...

Few directors could say as much with as little as Eric Rohmer.

There's a purity to the experience of watching a film so naturalistic, like living in someone else's life for two hours.

This is a movie of high innocence, set at a time in life when romantic love is still a frolic and the seaside is a balm that quells all ills.

[Rohmer's] inimitable blend of breeziness and frankness is never better matched in the director’s films than by the summer setting of this one, the sharp truths going down a lot smoother in the gorgeous sunlight.

As far as human interaction via intelligent and compelling conversation goes, it's hard to best Rohmer, whose simple, sometimes banal situations reveal unpredictable depths.

The sheer beat of the words keeps the actors moving in time, moving in circles, moving toward or away from each other...

... suffice it to say that there is little or no reason to see this film.