A Tale of Summer

 "A Tale of Summer" is a 1996 Eric Rohmer film that feels older. Young idiot Gaspard is in Brittany for the summer, taking walks on the beach in black, white or gray long-sleeved shirts and trousers, brooding over his absent girlfriend Léna with the self-seriousness of the juvenile, leading on another girl, Solène, and lamenting it all with Margot, "just a friend." The actors all make it charming and a little funny, even if you kind of want to smack the indecisive but oddly likeable Gaspard. He is an aspiring musician and has written a sea chanty! Hard to dislike completely, even though basically every girl I know has met and been exasperated by a Gaspard. 

It is almost impossible to find a movie now like this, one that feels natural and like you're in the shadows hanging out with these people. The most recent work like it is Luca Guadagnino - I at first disliked his HBO show "We Are Who We Are," because it seemed mumbly and aimless, but after watching it every week it definitely had a Rohmer feel to it, like I was being allowed to be on the periphery of this crowd. Anyway, Rohmer is the master of this and "Comte d'été" is a wonderful example. Also it's just beautiful to look at! Airmail me to Brittany right now. 

Margot is my favorite of the three girls.