Why a 1996 French romantic comedy is the ultimate study of romantic indecision

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In Eric Rohmer's A Summer's Tale, a young man arrives in a seaside town to wait for his girlfriend, only to find himself trapped by his own inability to choose between three different women. It is a masterclass in how our romantic pursuits often reveal more about our insecurities than our desires.

Released in 1996, A Summer's Tale is the third installment in Eric Rohmer's Tales of the Four Seasons series. The film follows Gaspard, a musician and mathematics graduate, who spends a summer in Dinard waiting for his girlfriend, Léna. During this period of limbo, he forms a deep friendship with Margot, an ethnologist, and begins a romance with Solène, a woman he meets at a local disco. As the summer progresses, Gaspard finds himself caught in a web of his own making, having promised to take all three women on a trip to the island of Ouessant.

The film is noted for its autobiographical elements, as Rohmer loosely based the plot on his own experiences as a young film student. Unlike many of his earlier works, Rohmer centers the narrative on a male protagonist, using Gaspard to explore themes of self-image, social anxiety, and the tendency to define one's worth through romantic relationships. The characters are obsessed with group dynamics and status, with Gaspard constantly vacillating between his perceptions of the women in his life. While Léna is a moody, imperious figure who makes him feel inadequate, Solène is straightforward and self-assured, and Margot remains a patient, enigmatic presence.

Rohmer employs a circular structure, framing the film with Gaspard's arrival and departure via ferry. The narrative is punctuated by the passage of time, with title cards marking each day from 17 July to 6 August. This linear progression emphasizes the protagonist's growing desperation as he attempts to manage his conflicting commitments. Ultimately, Gaspard's inability to choose leads him to abandon his plans entirely, escaping his self-constructed trap to pursue a job opportunity in Nantes. The film remains a quintessential Rohmerian work, blending innocence and calculation while leaving the audience to wonder if Gaspard is a cunning manipulator or simply a weak, indecisive fool.

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