Saturday, April 17, 2021

Conte d'été (1996)

 English title: A Summer's Tale

Gaspard is spending his vacations at the beach. He expects to meet Léna with whom he had struck a fragile relationship a while ago and who went on a trip to Spain. He then meets Margot, an ethnologist working a summer job as a waitress at her aunt's restaurant. They become close friends. Since Léna does not appear to be coming to meet him, Gaspard starts to date another girl he met through Margot.

Story of a guy who gets in some trouble over his romantic affairs. As was his use in some of his past movies, the author could have chosen a proverb to illustrate this story, say "The weak man is like a leaf in the wind" or something like that. The succession of events, punctuated by some long stretches of dialogue, is competently crafted but, while not exactly disagreeable to watch, rather banal in essence, resembling a soap opera in style. The encounter of the protagonist with his awaited girlfriend, supposed to be the film's climactic point, was badly handled, with the girl's character coming across as somewhat caricatural. It's hard for the viewer to understand how she could arouse any man's passion.

Rating: 45

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