Plot Details: This opinion reveals everything about the movie's plot.
Eric Rohmer's Summer, as it is listed in the Epinions database, was originally released under the French title Le Rayon Vert ("The Green Ray"), which is really a better name for the film, at least after you've seen it. This is easily my favorite among the Rohmer films I have seen thus far.
Historical Background: Eric Rohmer's staunchly Catholic and conservative orientation sets his film work apart from that of this fellow New Wave auteurs. Thematically, his works are mostly apolitical but deliver moral messages from a Catholic perspective. Stylistically, his films typically have little plot or action, focusing instead on the conversations and romantic posturings of educated, middle class young adults. Rohmer is strong on literary references. The conversations are typically witty, sometimes humorously self-exposing, often ambiguous, but never clichéd. The dialog in Rohmer's films is not always predetermined before filming. Instead, he lets it evolve out of discussions between the director and the actors. Rohmer's films were usually low-budget and seldom commercially successful.
Rohmer structured his oeuvre into series of four or six films sharing a common thematic orientation. Summer belongs to Rohmer's second film series called “Comedies and Proverbs.” This series opened with The Aviator’s Wife (1981), followed by A Good Marriage (Le Beau Marriage) (1982), Pauline at the Beach (1982), Full Moon in Paris (1984) and The Green Ray (1986), and concluded with My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend (1987).
The Story: Delphine (Marie Rivière) is a single young woman working as a secretary in Paris. Come August, many Parisians abandon Paris for their vacations in the mountains or on the sunny Mediterranean beaches. Trouble is that Delphine has been laid low by an unexpected one-two punch. Her fiancé broke up with her over the telephone and then her best friend cancelled out on their plan to vacation together in Greece.
Dephine doesn't like being alone but does not make friends readily because she is not especially adept at casual conversation, she's a bit self-absorbed, she's more sensitive than average (moody, self-pitying, prone to sea-sickness), and she's fussy (she's adamantly vegetarian). She is the kind of person for whom that one intimate love relationship is far more crucial to her sense of well-being than any number of friendships. One-night stands make her feel even worse about herself than does her loneliness.
Dephine's family urges her to join them in their trip to Ireland, but she finds little appeal in that prospect. Her grandfather tells her that he never took vacations when he was young, but found walking along the Seine as good as the seashore. Another friend invites her to join her and her boyfriend at a cottage and beach party for the weekend. There, Delphine makes something of a pill of herself. When she sits down to dinner with her hosts, she refuses the grilled pork chops because she's vegetarian (understandable enough, except she might have mentioned it sooner) and then launches into a long tirade about the medical, ethical, and economic arguments for vegetarianism, until all are wishing she hadn't been brought along. Later, while others play volleyball, she moodily kicks the sand and the waves. She takes a walk down a remote, bush-lined path and breaks into tears when she reaches a quiet spot at the end.
Delphine returns to Paris but feels terrible spending her vacation time alone in the city. She asks her ex-fiancé if she can use his condo in the mountains and heads off for some time there, instead. She lasts a few hours and then flees. "I know this place," she says, reminded of the ski bums and frivolous one-night stands. Back in Paris, she's miserable once again.
At the suggestion of a friend, she decides to brave a vacation alone on the beaches of the Mediterranean. On the way to the beach, Delphine walks past a group composed of middle-aged and elderly people, four women and a man. They are immersed in a conversation about a book one of them is reading and which two or three of the others have previously read: Jules Verne's The Green Ray. Delphine finds a place to sit at an inconspicuous distance from the group where she can overhear their conversation. What she learns is that "when the sun sets on the horizon, at the final stage, there is a kind of pale green shaft, like a sword blade, a horizontal beam, very pretty, but extremely brief." The old man in the group seizes the opportunity to impress the ladies by explaining the scientific basis for the phenomenon. When the sun is setting, the sunlight passes through the earth's atmosphere at such an oblique angle that the light is refracted into a prism or rainbow-like effect, with the red closest to the horizon and the purple in the ascendant position. The blue and purple portions of the spectrum are weak and not visible to the naked eye, so the green in the last to disappear as the sun sets. The yellow is strongest and until it disappears below the horizon, the green cannot be seen, so the green is only visible for a second or so just before the sun disappears. The effect can only be seen when the atmosphere is very clear. Sometimes a whole summer will go by without the green ray being seen. One of the ladies then adds, "Verne says, 'When you see the green ray, you can read your own feelings and other's too.'" Delphine takes some comfort in the idea that she may yet encounter true love and that there may be a way to recognize it.
Delphine stretches out in her bikini in the warm sun, but is obviously still lonely and disconsolate. Things seem to take a positive turn for her when she meets a vivacious, sociable, uninhibited blond Swedish girl (who walks about the beach topless). The Swedish girl, Lena (Gerard Quere), talks openly about the good-looking guys on the beach and cruising for guys. In sharp contrast to Delphine, the Swedish girl is masterful at flirtatious banter. At the snack bar, she very quickly picks out two young men and draws them into conversation. She plays games with them, misrepresenting her nationality, making them guess where she's from, tossing off lines in several languages. She has the two young men wrapped around her little finger, drooling in anticipation. Delphine is utterly overwhelmed, simultaneously repulsed by the disingenuousness of the conversation and envious of her friend's easy command of the situation. Delphine finally has to flee, foregoing the prospect of a "fun" night bar-hopping as a foursome.
At the Biarritz train station, Delphine waits for her train, planning to abandon the beaches and once again return to Paris, even though she has vacation time remaining. A young man, Jacques (Vincent Gauthier), sits nearby and catches her eye. He notices the book she's reading, The Idiot, having read it himself. Without any posturing or pickup lines, they strike up a conversation, out of natural interest in one another. Delphine – meek, reserved Delphine – audaciously asks if she might join him for the day at St. Jean de Luz, where he is going for the weekend. He is happy to have her company. After spending the afternoon together, she asks him if he'd go with her to a promontory across the bay to watch the sunset. At the lookout spot, he asks her if she'd like to stay the weekend. She hesitates, as the sun begins to set, asking him to give her a few moments to decide. She waits and watches as the sun begins to disappear until – miraculously – the green ray appears for just a brief second before the sun sinks below the horizon. In a transcendent moment, a sudden look of joy spreads across Delphine's face and her spirit is reborn.
Themes: Thematically, I am rarely in substantial agreement with Rohmer. From my perspective, Rohmer is at the opposite extreme as Truffaut in his perspective on romantic relationships. Truffaut, in both his films and his personal life, paints a picture of self-absorption, promiscuity, and shallowness while Rohmer's vision is one of moralistic rigidity. In Summer, he has at least kept the moralizing at a subtle level.
There is one issue raised in Summer with which I can largely concur: the issue of moral avoidance. The issue arises in the discussion of vegetarianism, but it makes no difference whether you are or are not vegetarian to appreciate the main point of the discussion. One of the individuals at the dinner table comments that he was disgusted by what he observed at the butcher's shop, but that he had simply switched to purchasing meat at a supermarket. Delphine points out the hypocrisy of morals that are applicable only when violations of those morals are visible. This is analogous to the situation in which Americans become incensed by wartime deaths when they see them on television but don't care when it's only abstract numbers. The Bush Administration has made a point of keeping the shipment of remains out of public sight precisely so that Americans won't experience moral indignation. Truly moral people do not differentiate between immoral acts that they witness and those that they know are happening but which are out of their sight.
On the other hand, I don't agree with Rohmer's perspective on premarital sex, as expressed in this film by Delphine. Delphine feels cheapened by having sex on a one-night basis. My personal view is that there is a full spectrum of relationships in terms of meaningfulness. Most of us understand that sex combined with love is the richest and most rewarding kind of romantic relationship there is. Exploitive and dishonest relationships are at the other end of the spectrum. A one-night stand that is based on an honest understanding and sincere interest in one another is not a negative relationship – even if it's not on a par with a committed love relationship combined with sexual intimacy. Moreover, if one believes that sexual intimacy is an important component of a marital relationship (at least until aging catches up with sexuality), then premarital sex is part of testing the potential success of what one hopes might evolve into a long-term relationship. Some of those tests are bound to fail and turn into one-night (or a bit longer) stands. That kind of sincere effort to test the waters, so to speak, is not meaningless sex. If Delphine feels cheapened by what sometimes turn out to be one-night stands, it is mainly because she has bought into somebody's rigid, moralistic view – perhaps Rohmer's.
Another issue presented by Rohmer with great subtlety (which may be missed altogether by viewers not familiar with Rohmer's viewpoint and his other work) is the question of how best to find an appropriate mate. Cultures across the world differ widely in their approaches to matchmaking. In some cultures, women are sold into marriage. In India and some other locales, parents typically arrange the matches. The bride and groom might never even meet before the wedding. In Western civilization, the vast majority of matches are consensual and determined mutually by the couple. Even so, there remains a range of views in Western countries. Some single people actively shop around for a mate, viewing it as a strategic challenge. They set out to meet Mr. Right or Miss Right through the dating game, at dances, pick-up bars, clubs, the work place, school, or wherever. Rohmer's view is that it's best for young singles to leave matchmaking in the hands of God – or, if you prefer, luck or supernatural forces. We see Delphine finding playing cards that seemingly preordain her love life – first the queen of spades, indicating an unlucky turn, and then the jack of hearts, just before Jacques shows up. Her friends ask her if she has any superstitions that she could use to help her out of her doldrums. Then, in the end, the superstition relating to the magical power of the green ray brings the story to a happy conclusion. This is Rohmer's way of reinforcing the idea that you're best off waiting for nature to take its course (e.g., putting your faith in God). I personally recommend involving yourself actively in finding your true love but undertaking that effort with patience and recognition of the chance component. When Delphine's problem is solved by good fortune and the mysterious agency of the green ray, it makes excellent dramatic material, but is a poor lesson in life, in my opinion.
Delphine is an independent woman in some respects, but she is certainly no liberated woman. She suffers from a sense of incompleteness without a man in her life. While it's healthy to search out a life partner, it's unhealthy psychologically, to be in such desperation to find that partner that one is doleful during the interim. It's also counterproductive, since desperation and depression are off-putting.
Production Values: For me personally, this is by far the best Rohmer script that I've encountered. In Summer, Rohmer illuminates Delphine's essential being more thoroughly than with any of his other protagonists of my experience. Delphine is revealed to her core: dazed and disconsolate, ill-at-ease and incomplete without a love interest. We even see her unhappiness in her physical gestures, as she nervously touches her collarbones and her face. Rohmer is not interested in waiting for big events in Delphine's life through which to study her. He discovers her in the ennui of her ordinary, lonely existence, when she is at her most characteristic. Rohmer gives us, here, one of the most meticulous psychological studies of an individual to be found on film. Rohmer and we observe her intimately, but with a sense of detached amusement.
The cinematography for Summer was provided by Sophie Maintigneux. The shots during both the first and second of Delphine's trips to the seashore are magnificent, often hazy and with a sandy colored palette. The lighting is exquisite. There's one amazing scene near the beginning when Delphine is walking down a lonely country path. The wind has begun to kick up and the editing cuts back and forth between the violent rustling of the bushes, flowers and tree limbs and Delphine, until finally Delphine bursts into tears, her emotions having been whipped up into a frenzy. Her feelings are blowin' in the wind, so to speak. There's another amazing bit of photography near the end of the film in which the much-praised green ray is captured during a gorgeous sunset. Rohmer filmed sunsets for months in hopes of capturing this moment and it paid off. This was an amazing piece of luck for Rohmer comparable to the green ray's worth in relation to Delphine's state of mind.
Much of Summer was improvised by its cast! As a result, viewers often feel that they're watching a real person in Delphine, not an actress playing a role. Marie Rivière performs her part to utter perfection. Gerard Quere is magnificent as the gorgeous Swedish girl, Lena. The support roles are uneven, which is not surprising considering that Rohmer uses non-professionals.
Bottom-Line: I loved this film, but I have to be cautious about recommending it to others, across the board. This is a film about a shy introvert, a person who felt awkward interacting spontaneously in friendly conversation. Just as she felt awkward in the company of her out-going flirtatious Swedish friend, extroverted viewers are likely to feel uncomfortable spending time with Delphine. Rohmer is at no small pains to depict Delphine in all her dull, aimless, angst-ridden misery. Accordingly, one viewer states, "The problem with a film that portrays a woman who is emotionally awkward and unappealing is that the film is then emotionally awkward and unappealing to watch." That's true, except that it misses the point that some of us, such as the young man who meets Delphine at the train station, prefer people who are reserved, introspective, and thoughtful to the superficiality of conversation typical among extroverts. Another viewer says, "Two weeks of boot camp would be preferable to spending time with" Delphine. Such viewers will wonder at the fact that I'd prefer to spend time with Delphine to the gorgeous, extroverted Swedish blond, despite the latter's obvious appeal, because the superficiality and lack of sincerity of the Swedish girl's banter would soon overwhelm me. In short, this film will appeal to introverts much more than extroverts.
Although I'm not generally with Rohmer thematically, I'm going to display some open-mindedness here and give this film a five-star rating based on craftsmanship, depth of character portrayal, and the superlative ending. Keep in mind, however, that if shy, angst-ridden introverts annoy you, this film will be three-stars for you, at best. Summer is in French with English subtitles and has a running time of 98 minutes.
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You might want to check out these other excellent films from France:
Product DetailsOriginal Title:SummerActors: Joe Cobden - Karen Cliche - Michael RubenfeldCondition: NEWFormat: DVDDirector: Phil PriceRuntime: 90 ...More at iNetVideo.com
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