LGM Film Club, Part 386: A Tale of Summer

You either like Eric Rohmer films or you don’t like Eric Rohmer films. There’s not much in the way of in between. These are films where people talk about love. Then it all works out somehow in the end. I find most of them incredibly compelling. The dialogue isn’t exactly realistic, but it’s not too far from being realistic at the very least. And while I like the first two editions of the Before series, the most obvious American comparison and clearly influenced by Rohmer, the dialogue can get a bit ridiculous in them. That doesn’t happen much with Rohmer.

What made A Tale of Summer interesting on top of this is that it is also something of a deep dive into the sea shanty tradition of the French coast. The guy in the film is super interested in them and one of his possible love interests is too and it provides an anthropological look at a dying tradition. Plus lots of talk about love from attractive people. I dunno, if you hate this, go watch some big explosions or something.

Here’s a clip from this excellent film.