A Summer's Tale

30th Anniversary Screening 

Tuesday, September 8, 9 PM, Tent 

Fiction, 1996, France

Director and Screenwriter: Éric Rohmer
Runtime: 1 h 53 min
Themes: France, classic, summer, romance
Language: French, English subtitles
Age rating: General audiences

The last breath of summer unfurls in Karhupuisto with a 30th-anniversary screening of director Éric Rohmer's perhaps most beloved film, A Summer's Tale (Conte d'été).

One of the new wave legend's final works, the film is based on the director's own youthful experiences. In the coastal town of Dinard in northwestern France, Gaspard awaits his girlfriend Léna to arrive for their holiday together. When Léna takes her time, Gaspard begins to flirt with Margot, an ethnology student, and Solène, a local. When Léna finally appears, Gaspard, who has been playing the field, faces a difficult choice.

The film's themes are classic Rohmer, which Iida Sofia Hirvonen raves about in her essay in the festival magazine: idyllic landscapes, long kisses, cinematic actors, aimless wandering, overlapping relationships, and the difficulty of choices – all masterfully told through soft and delightful irony.

The film is part of the festival's France Day program.

Other credits:

Starring: Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, Aurélia Nolin, Gwenaëlle Simon
Cinematographer: Diane Baratier
Editor: Mary Stephen
Composers: Philippe Eidel, Sébastien Erms
Producer: Margaret Ménégoz
Production Companies: Les Films du Losange, La Sept Cinéma