Entangling of the Selves

In A Summer’s Tale and Our Sunhi, romantic indecision and being an unwitting object of desire become a mirror for deeper questions of identity and self-perception. The young protagonists, navigating life transitions, experience overlapping affections and shifting projections from and for others, revealing how personal uncertainty and misread intentions fuel emotional entanglements.

This screening of A Summer’s Tale will be accompanied by an online Q&A session with Éric Rohmer’s longtime editor Mary Stephen.

Original Title: Conte d’été
Director: Éric Rohmer
Runtime: 109 mins
Country: France
Language: French with English Subtitles
Rating: PG13

Synopsis

Loosely based on Rohmer’s young adult life as a film student, Gaspard in A Summer’s Tale goes on a seaside holiday and hopes his girlfriend Léna will join him. He draws the interest of Margot, who encourages him to date her friend Solène. Things become complicated when Léna turns up, forcing Gaspard to choose between the two women.

Part of his Tales of the Four Seasons series, Rohmer’s sun-drenched portrait of youth captures the psychological and moral consequences of self-deception and indecision of its protagonist caught in romantic entanglement. The fleeting intensity of summer becomes a canvas for examining the burning passions of young love.

Footnote:
Tales of the Four Seasons is a late-career cycle by Éric Rohmer comprising four films, each set in a different season and released between 1990 and 1998. Beginning with A Tale of Springtime and followed by A Tale of Winter, A Summer’s Tale, and Autumn Tale, the series offers a breezy and by turns melancholic portrait of love and chance shaped by the cyclical rhythm of the seasons.

About the Speaker

Born in Hong Kong, Mary Stephen grew up in Canada and lives in France. She was French New Wave master Eric Rohmer’s film editor and collaborated with him on music as co-composer on several of his films, under the collective pseudonym of Sébastien Erms. In the past 15 years she worked in documentary and fiction with filmmakers from many countries such as Turkey, China, South Africa, Japan, Canada, as editor and mentor (list on IMDB). The films she directed include Vision from the Edge: Breyten Bretyenach Painting the Lines and the current release, Palimpsest: The Story of a Name.

For more screenings of Twin Tales: Hong Sang-soo and Éric Rohmer, please click here.

Friends of AFA members, please read the membership guide on how to purchase your discounted tickets and redeem your complimentary tickets.

Oldham Theatre’s opening hours

For further assistance, please contact us at ticketing@asianfilmarchive.org 

Important Notice:

Do note that Oldham Theatre operates on a free seating arrangement. Doors will open 10 minutes before showtime so arrive early to choose a seat and avoid disrupting the screenings as AFA does not play ads and screenings will start promptly.

All patrons are encouraged to purchase your tickets online. If you choose to purchase tickets or merchandise at Oldham Theatre’s box office, cashless payment is preferred.

—

T&Cs
Concession tickets apply to Students (Local & Overseas), Full-time National Servicemen (NSF), Senior Citizens (55 years and above) only.

Please check film ratings before purchase of tickets. Please note that you may be asked to present your ID at the door (this applies to concession tickets as well). Only physical photographic identification is allowed, digital copies of identification are not allowed. AFA reserves the right to turn away any members of the public without physical photographic identification.

Upon confirmation of your order for Tickets, no exchange of Tickets will be made under any circumstances and Tickets are not transferable. No refund on Tickets will be made under any circumstances except due to cancellation of the event. The resale of Tickets at any price is prohibited.