A Tale of Springtime

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Product Reviews

(1 stars) - It Looks Like It Is Going to Be a VERY Long Year
I really don't like it when I get to the end of a movie and wonder why it was even made. Indeed, this movie moved so slow I think it took just short of an eternity to watch it! My wife, literally, longed for it to come to the end. We both found the conversations to be mostly overly verbose and insignificant to moving the story along. There isn't anything in it that would be against traditional family values. The reason we watched it is because the daughter was eighteen years old, and I'm working on a book on movies about kids. I'd say the best that could be said of this movie is that it does give the feeling of being the 'third wheel' or the 'odd woman out.' This is supposed to be the first in a series of four seasons; if so, it is going to be a very, very long year.

(4 stars) - A match made .... all in your mind
While Rohmer's four "seasonal" films are eclipsed by the monumental Autumn's Tale -- which rivals Claire's Knee as the finest film Rohmer ever made -- this first entry in the Tales of Four Seasons is a worthy effort. All four films in the cycle involve a matchmaking theme (although in Winter's Tale, the matchmaker may, egad!, be God), and the cleverness of A Tale of Springtime is how the overly analytical high school philosophy teacher jumps to the conclusion that she is the object of a matchmaking scheme when, indeed, it may be all in her mind, the over-workings of an over-active imagination. While the casting in this film is a bit bland, Rohmer is attentive to details in his usual way: the film opens with the teacher leaving for spring break from Lycee Jacques Brel (how funny is that?) and deciding to head for Paris after viewing the empty disarray of her absent boyfriend's flat. Characters are constantly defined by their habitats and cares, whether flowers on a balcony or an art critic's well-stocked bookcase. Walled-in spaces define the limits of feeling, and what passes for a plot here is so internalised that Rohmer adds a McGuffin, a little mystery over a lost necklace, to give this delicate souffle a bit of structure. It's a masterwork if not a masterpiece by one of the greatest writer-directors in world cinema.

(5 stars) - Small truths are revealed in the warmth of Rohmer's 'Springtime.'
Along with Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, his 1990 Tale of Springtime (Conte d'printemps) ranks among my favorite Rohmer films. The French romantic comedy is the first film in his "Contes des quatre saisons" (Tales of the Four Seasons) series, which also includes A Tale of Winter (Conte d'hiver) (1992), A Summer's Tale (Conte d'été) (1996) and Autumn Tale (Conte d'automne) (1998). A Tale of Springtime stars Anne Teyssedre, Sophie Robin, Florence Darel, Hugues Quester, and Eloise Bennett in a subtly-nuanced love story about Jeanne, a reserved high school philosophy teacher (Teyssedre), who meets a teenage piano student, Natacha (Darel), at a party, who has a hidden agenda. Jeanne is between apartments and living with her absent lover. Natacha, who claims her father is also away on business, invites Jeanne to spend the night at her place. Unbeknownst to Jeanne, Natacha is hoping do some matchmaking for her divorced father (Quester), even though he already has a lover, Eve (Eloise Bennett). Suffice it to say, Jeanne's scheme ignites French fireworks, transforming this film into a bittersweet meditation on relationships and love. This romance tale reveals Rohmer at his best. He understands the complexities of the human heart, and all of the "action" in this film occurs in the brilliant "Rohmeresque" relationship dialogue (which may not be enough to hold the interest of some viewers). Spring marks the transition from winter into summer, and when it comes to the affairs of the heart, Rohmer's film lives up to its title: small truths are revealed in the warmth of Rohmer's Springtime Tale.


G. Merritt

(3 stars) - I don't regret watching this film...
"A tale of Springtime" is part of Eric Rohmer's "Tales of the four seasons". It is an interesting film, but it is far from being excellent, at least in my opinion.

The plot is not complicated. A philosophy teacher, Jeanne (Anne Teyssèdre), finds herself temporarily without a place to live, due to the fact that she has lent her apartment to a cousin, and also because she has no intention whatsoever of living in her boyfriend's house while he is on holidays. Fortunately, Jeanne meets Natacha (Florence Darel), a young woman that invites Jeanne to her home, arguing that it is a perfect solution for both, because she doesn't like to be alone. Truth to be told, Natacha shares her house with her father Igor (Hugues Quester), but he is almost never there, preferring to be with his young girlfriend, Eve (Eloïse Bennett).

Not much happens during this film, apart from the fact that Natacha constantly tries to connect Jeanne with her father. All the same, I think you will enjoy the long conversations between the characters, and the beautiful countryside scenery. Is that enough to recommend "A tale of springtime"? I sincerely don't know, but I can say that I don't regret watching this film.

Belen Alcat

PS: By the way, my favorite film in "The tales of the four seasons" series is "A tale of winter".

(4 stars) - A wonderfully entertaining French flick!
Let me start by saying that if you don't like French films where there is no action and it's mostly just dialogue amongst the leads in a few different indoor/outdoor settings, then don't look here. However, if you find Eric Rohmer films, and French films that are very "talky" engaging, then this is one of the better ones.

The leads in this films all give wonderful performances and while I don't like every Rohmer film, I liked this one a lot. Even though it is all talking throughout, the conversations and script kept me intrigued and I found the movie flew buy in a good way (normally talky pictures seem to drag on and on).

The plot is basically a beautiful 18-year-old French girl (the redhead on the DVD cover) meets a late 20's/early 30's girl at a party where they are both bored and become friends. The 18-year-old despises her late 30's/early 40's father's girlfriend and believes that if she puts her new friend togther with her dad, he will fall for her and forget his fiancee. That's basically it, but the characters keep you focused and quite interested in their simple interactions.

The settings are plain, but rather nice-looking French decor. Even though it's a late 80's film, I didn't see much in it to make you think you were in that time frame. A film that looks very fresh today. Also, the MGM-World Films line does a much better job of the transfer than the rest of Rohmer's films, which are done by the folks at Fox/Lorber. The picture quality is far superior and you can change and remove the subtitles (unlike the Lorber films which are burned in).

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