Conte d'été 1996

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Originally released in 1996 in France (but never before in the U.S.), Eric Rohmer's sun-kissed love quadrangle remains as fresh and romantically profound as it was 18 years ago. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: At the age of 76, filmmaker Eric Rohmer probably has a better understanding of young love than most young lovers do. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: The world turns, the sun rises and sets, and the ocean's waves splash on idyllic beaches in Eric Rohmer's "A Summer's Tale." Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Poupaud may come off as callow and timid... but Rohmer seems to suggest that his youthful mistakes will make him a better man, a typically generous, hopeful, and convincing sentiment in a disarmingly winning film. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: There's a purity to the experience of watching a film so naturalistic, like living in someone else's life for two hours. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Few directors could say as much with as little as Eric Rohmer. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: 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. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Astute, unhurried and gently amusing, it will be welcomed by the director's fans while serving as a fine introduction for those who know him not. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: For all his seeming facility with the opposite sex, Gaspard is really a romantic idiot. And aren't we all, Rohmer suggests. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: [It's] as if the director had been awaiting for half a century the artistry with which to exorcise his memories of embarrassment, pain, and sexual frustration. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: "A Summer's Tale" has room to focus on Rohmer's brilliance at revealing human nature through articulate, multidimensional characters, perfectly cast, who in some ways seem to exist outside of time. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A Summer's Tale is one of those movies where it looks like nothing is happening ... Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The best films leave space for viewers to interpret the action. Here Rohmer insists on it. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Discovering that there's a 1996 movie by Eric Rohmer that's only now making it into U.S. theaters is like finding a $20 bill in an old pair of pants. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: The third, sunniest and funniest of Rohmer's seasonal tales. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Think of it as a thriller by Hitchcock-a Rohmer favorite-only with words, not knives, that cut straight to the heart. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: A Summer's Tale is vintage Eric Rohmer, his most richly satisfying film in a number of outings. Read more

Jonathan Kiefer, Village Voice: A Summer's Tale feels like a great beach read of a movie, that deceptively slender paperback you tuck into your luggage because it's substantial without weighing much. Read more

Mark Jenkins, Washington Post: The fresh-faced actors, realistic dialogue and naturalistic performances suggest a casual approach, but as the story progresses, the filmmaker's control is increasingly evident. Read more