Eric Rohmer’s A SUMMER’S TALE (Conte d’été), the third entry in the TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS cycle—and the only one never previously released theatrically in the US will finally get a release date. A SUMMER’S TALE will open at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York on June 20, and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal, Playhouse 7 in Pasadena and Town Center in Encino on July 18. A national release will follow.

A SUMMER’S TALE originally premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 1996. Following A TALE OF SPRINGTIME (1990) and A TALE OF WINTER (1992), A SUMMER’S TALE resumed the cycle after THE TREE, THE MAYOR AND THE MEDIATHEQUE (1993) and RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS (1995). AUTUMN TALE (1998) rounded out the series.

Gaspard (Melvil Poupaud), a recent university graduate, arrives at the seaside in Bretagne for three weeks’ vacation before starting a new job. He’s hoping his sort-of girlfriend, the fickle Léna (Aurélia Nolin), will join him there; but as the days pass, he welcomes the interest of Margot (Amanda Langlet, the titular character from Rohmer’s PAULINE AT THE BEACH), a student of ethnology working as a waitress for the summer. Things start to get complicated when the spoken-for Margot encourages Gaspard to have a summer romance with her friend, Solène (Gwenaëlle Simon), and he complies. When Léna turns up, and scheduling complications abound, Gaspard will have to make a choice…

Rohmer’s characteristically light touch allows his characters to discourse on love and friendship, even as their body language complicates and even contradicts their words. Diane Baratier’s cinematography perfectly captures the languor of youth and the feeling of a French beach vacation–the sea, the sunlight and the picturesque surroundings convey the openness of a world of possibilities faced by these young people.

1996; restored 2013  109 min  In French with English subtitles