In 1996, aged 76, Éric Rohmer completed Conte d'été (Conte d'été), the third film in his acclaimed Contes des quatre saisons series. Conte de printemps (Spring Tale) and Conte d'hiver (Winter Tale) were released in 1990 and 1992 respectively, while Conte d'automne (Conte d'automne), the last in the series Also met with the audience in 1998. This 4-year gap in the series from its predecessor (the rest are 2 years) is also the only one that wasn't released in the U.S. at the beginning of its release - it wasn't until 4 years after Rohmer's death in 2014 that I had the opportunity to Enjoy this late film in American cinemas. These perhaps unobtrusive peculiarities got me thinking and realizing that rather than continuing the series' focus on love and humanity, Rohmer used Summer's Tale to tell how a boy A moving story of growing up.
The film is about a boy Gaspard (Gapard) and Margot (Margot), Lena (Lena (Lena) and Solene (Solene) three girls took place in the summer of Brittany, France, a romantic entanglement occurred. Gaspard took the ferry to the resort town alone. Originally, he was waiting for his "unsure girlfriend" Lena, but he met Margo, a gentle, intelligent and understanding restaurant waitress, and chatted with him during many walks. After that, the relationship between the two slowly warmed up, and it seemed that they had crossed the border of friendship; Su Lian, whom Gaspard met at the dance a few days later, was a passionate and sexy girl who had firm principles for love. She took the initiative and quickly captured it. Inspired by Gaspard's heart, the two even made an appointment to visit the island where Gaspard originally planned to go with Lena; however, Lena suddenly returned from a trip to Spain, and Gaspard decided to leave Margo and Sulian to settle down. When the idea is to go to the island with Lena, Lena's sensitivity and uncertainties bring a huge setback to Gaspard. Just when Gaspard was trapped in several relationships and could barely escape, a phone call from a friend reached out to him, who was deeply in the emotional quagmire. In order to get the recording equipment that he had long wanted, Gaspard hurried. I set foot on the departing ferry and left the three girls and a memory in the summer with blue sea and blue sky.
Stephen Holden, a film critic for The New York Times, once wrote, "...Rohmer himself takes his love affairs almost as seriously as the characters in his films. Dilemma, but always keeping a polite distance..." A notable example is the many walks and conversations between Gaspard and Margot, which run through the film and are without a doubt the essence of the film. However, Rohmer hardly used any complicated camera language or editing skills, the rambled dialogue, the ambiguous expression and the sometimes contrived and sometimes casual posture were all naked and unfiltered by Rohmer from the perspective of a bystander. displayed in front of the audience. From the perspective of "morality", another subject that Rohmer is keen on, the male protagonist's waiting, passive, indecisive and even indecisive in the face of love will inevitably be criticized by traditional concepts; and Gaspard's own weakness at the end of the film leads him to The appointments with Su Lian and Lena were arranged at the same time on the same day. At this time, the hero's helplessness and the desperate situation he must make a choice seem to be in line with the audience's psychological expectations and curiosity. Rohmer, who has always given the impression of "doing nothing" in movies, unexpectedly stopped his previous polite onlookers and arranged a life-saving phone call for Gaspard, giving him "dead end" A chance to live" and an excuse to keep putting off choices.
When the audience analyzed the reasons for Rohmer's dramatic turn, the most mentioned reason was his tolerance and compassion for the frailty of human nature. Although I agree with this view, if I continue to ask, why did Rohmer choose to show his tolerance and compassion at this time? Why does this sudden change seem so reasonable and acceptable to the audience? In my opinion, this so-called redemption is precisely the praise and praise that Rohmer gave to Gaspard after seeing (the director) growing up, and the encouragement and hope he gave to the audience.
Gaspard promised to write a song for Lena, but after he finally finished it, he couldn't expect Lena, and he couldn't stand Su Lian's enthusiasm, so he even gave it to Su Lian; a few days later, Lena appeared unexpectedly, When it comes to the song Gaspard had promised, Gaspard can only prevaricate that it hasn't been written yet. Interestingly, as Gaspard himself says in the play, "I hate lying," he reassuringly doesn't give the same song to two women; so in the final days of the film's diary-like structure, Gaspard can be seen meditating with his guitar in his hands in the dead of night, trying to fulfill his promise to write a new song for Lena - but not being able to weave the choppy notes into a smooth flow until he leaves by boat. melody. The new song was not written, but when Gaspard faced the passivity caused by his missed appointment, he did not give up, but made a better choice, which reflected his respect for Lena and Su Lian, which is a kind of grow up.
Two conversations between Gaspard and Margot are also worth pondering. The scene happens when Gaspard reassures an angry Margo and defends himself,
Gaspard: "I'm not going to call two girls at the same time."
Margot: "Call two girls? It's three, You forgot about me."
Another scene takes place at the end of the film, where Margot bids Gaspard farewell on the dock, and when talking about his relationship with the other two girls,
Gaspard: "What about the third one?"
Margo: "You count me now?"
After more than ten days of going around, Gaspard finally had the courage to face his true thoughts and the Margo who was standing opposite him, and be honest about the love that transcended friendship. From the timid avoidance at first to the open heart at parting, it is also a kind of growth.
Growing up, Gaspard was still alone in the end, choosing to leave for the music he loved. In the long shot at the end of the film, Gaspard's ferry leaves the pier, turns, accelerates, shrinks, and finally almost disappears into the vast sea and sky. The vision that had been focused on the four young men and women suddenly broadened, the seaside town is so insignificant to the boundless sea, the journey of ten days is so short for a person's life, and there are still too many unknowns and possibilities waiting to be added. Spade, Margot, Lena and Su Lin, waiting for the other young men and women - this long shot is the hope that Rohmer gives the audience. Another notable detail comes from the sound - the song Gaspard completes in the film. This sailor song is very different from his melancholy and sentimental temperament. It is called a love song, but it sings a pirate daughter's yearning and fearlessness for voyage. "I think of the end of the world to see if the earth is round." The rhythm is brisk and full of passion, It revealed the unknown side of Gaspard's inner firmness and bravery, and provided an important source of confidence for the audience in the boy's future.
It is also common in literature to describe the turmoil, confusion and growth of adolescence by describing the behavior and psychology of boys in the face of different girls. Rohmer's love and torture for the hero reminded me of how Qian Zhongshu treated the weak and pedantic Fang Hongjian in the first paragraph of "Besieged City". Although it is too reluctant to associate Fang Hongjian, an old intellectual, with the image of a boy, but who knows if Fang Hongjian remembered the past when he was "walking home, intending to treat Rou Jia well" His relationship with the cold and elegant Miss Su, the hot and sexy Miss Bao, and the gentle and intelligent Miss Tang? Another more appropriate example is writer Feng Tang's "Everything Grows", Qiu Shui "grew" solidly and effectively in his relationship with his first love, his ex-girlfriend and Liu Qing. Feng Tang "dedicated "The Growth of Everything" to his mother, because "many mothers may not know that some children grow up like this". Rohmer was extremely low-key throughout his life, and even when his mother died, he did not know that his son, Jean-Marie Maurice Schérer, was the iconic figure of the post-war French New Wave. Director Rohmer. I've often wondered if "Summer's Tale" was shot by Rohmer for his mother, who was long dead, to tell her that there was a kind of boy who grew up this way.
The filming location of the film is located in Dilne, on the Brittany Peninsula in northwestern France, which is a famous summer resort with an average temperature of only 21 degrees Celsius in summer. The title of the film is "A Story of Summer", and Rohmer chose such an "atypical" summer beach, which, in my opinion, can better express his unique thinking and attitude towards youth and growth in his seventies. The focus of Rohmer's discussion is not the fiery enthusiasm of adolescence like the scorching sun on the southern coast of France, neither hot nor sticky, nor the impulses and desires of young men and women; standing on the edge of life, what he feels is the ignorance of youth, It is the pain of growing up, and it is the reluctance to give up accompanied by relief; he sits behind the monitor and shoots the mist on the sea surface, the coolness of the sea, and the saltiness of the sea breeze - British "Daily Telegraph" ( The Daily Telegraph) once published an article commenting that Rohmer's views on life are getting younger and younger as he gets older, and the summer that the audience finally sees is his "Rohmer-like" fusion of youthful mentality and years of accumulation. Summer - thin as a cicada's wings, transparent and beautiful.
At that time, in the theater, I watched the white waves rolled up by Gaspard's ferry boat rolling up and down, and finally disappeared in the blue sea, and my heart gradually returned to peace. But there is a belief that continues to this day - the boy will eventually finish that song and meet that person.
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