Watching Rohmer's movies in free time is a relaxing and interesting thing. The characters in the film often go on vacation, meet some strangers on the way, and start talking. The slow rhythm, long dialogue and leisurely scenery always make the audience feel like a vacation.
"Summer Story" can be regarded as my favorite of Rohmer's works so far. Rohmer sees love thoroughly, and sees men and women more thoroughly. The most important parts of Rohmer's films are the characters, whose moods and changes in thought drive the development of the whole film.
Kasper represents a large portion of men, and I even think of Leonard in Two Lovers. Men are often kind of creatures who "seek second". When the person they like ignores their love, they will seek comfort from those who have a good impression of them. Casper initially talks to Margo, expressing his deep love for Reina, but Reina doesn't care about him, which annoys him. But with the passage of time, Reina has not shown up, so Casper started talking with Margo most of the time about his feelings, and gradually turned into wanting to further develop a relationship with Margo. When the love he craved was not met, Casper would want to be met by intimacy with other women.
Although Margot had a good impression of Kasper, she also knew that Kasper only regarded her as a substitute, so she rejected Kasper and chose to be a friend. Friends may be easier to get along with than lovers. Pure friends can talk about their inner thoughts without worrying about them, and get along more freely. But when facing a lover, he can't help but worry about this and that, which is very uncomfortable.
Without getting a response from Margo, Casper tried to establish a close relationship with Su Lian, who had a good impression of herself, to ease the loss caused by Lena's missed appointment. He gave Su Lian the song he once wrote to Reina. His being with Su Lian is not only a relief of loss, he also wants to take revenge on Reina in this way, and at the same time let himself experience the feeling of Reina being pursued. Kasper transforms himself with Sulian as he tries to transform himself from a neglected beggar into a well-loved rich man. Although he said that he did not lie, he told Su Lian one lie after another.
Kasper's time with Sulian makes Margo very uncomfortable, and Margo finds himself gradually reduced to a substitute for a substitute. Kasper once promised Margo that if Reina didn't show up, he would go to Wesson with her, but now he made a promise to Su Lian, whose fickleness and hypocrisy greatly disappointed Margo. Casper, however, is not willing to lose his friendship with Margo, and he also expresses his desire to go to Wisson with Margo.
Margot is a sympathetic person: she has a crush on Kasper, but Kasper is in love with another person. As early as when she was a waiter in a restaurant, she had a good impression of Kasper, and she tried to get close to Kaspar at the beach, but Kasper was always absent-mindedly thinking about other things. But Margot is the one who sees love the most: she clearly knows what is behind Kasper's actions, and she also knows what kind of person Kasper is, so she chooses to maintain her relationship with Kasper. Friendship, she is a smart person.
Then Lena unexpectedly came to Kasper, and Kasper left Sulian and Margot behind and wanted to go to Wesson with Lena. When Reina asked if the song Kasper had given her had been written, Kasper faltered, bringing the man's hypocrisy to life. But Reina's travel plans changed, and she finally decided not to travel with Casper. So Kasper promised Su Lian and Margo again that he wanted to go to Wesson with them. Men are greedy creatures. There is someone who loves him, but he still thinks of other things, and always wants to get what he likes the most. After you feel that you can't get what you like the most, you don't want to lose those you almost like.
Finally, when Reyna says she can travel with him too, Kasper is thrown into complete chaos, and he begins to be tormented by a complicated relationship. So a call telling him that he could buy a tape recorder was his savior. What an irony that he finally gave up going to Wisson with anyone and chose to leave by boat. Casper didn't want to lose anything, and in the end somehow lost everything.
"Summer's Tale" is about Wei Song, who can never be reached.
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