In acclaimed director Eric Rohmer's first of the "Tales of the Four Seasons" series: 1992's "Tale of Springtime", four characters intertwine in real-life cadence. We are introduced to them, garner their likes, dislikes, demeanours... and then they interact. It's that simple... and that wonderful. Typical Rohmer.

At a party, Jeanne and Natacha sit beside each other on a couch and begin to converse. Regardless of their age difference, they immediately develop a rapport that develops a budding friendship. Begin plot.

We learn of Natacha's family life with separated parents and a dysfunctional relationship with her estranged Mother. She lives with her father and has an unhealthy bias against her fathers current girlfriend, Eve. On the other hand Jeanne is more guarded and divulges only hidden details of the state of her current life. A boyfriend who is away, and a female cousin and beau utilizing her apartment. She curiously relates her dislike of her traveling boyfriends unclean apartment where she has the key to stay but would prefer not to.

So Jeanne sleeps over at Natacha's home that night and her Father unexpectedly arrives the next morning embarrassingly finding Jeanne recently finished a hot shower. We are teased in believing this to be a foreshadowing of future indiscretions between these characters. Hmmm.. food for thought.

This film is filled with magnificent outdoor scenes of gardens and forests, as well as expected Rohmerian French babes. This character-based slice-of-life draws you into it's relaxed atmosphere of realism with perfect affinity. NOTE: I did note one rather unusual aspect of the film that is uncharacteristically Rohmer: the use of background music is pretty taboo, usually making use of only "natural sounds" from the activities occurring onscreen. Rohmer was a director born out of the experimental French New Wave era and has his own very specific criterion for making films: no over utilization of cinematography adaptations such as tracking shots, jump cuts or reverse angles. He feels this spartan cinematic experience subtly conveys to the viewer the ability to identify more closely with the characters and more intimately with the plot and storyline. I agree and "Tale of Springtime" is a prime example with one four minute conversation filmed by one camera with no cutaways or close-ups. However, like Russian cinema icon Andrei Tarkovsky, who was philosophically against music interludes, Rohmer still uses them in this film. The tracks used from the opening scene to various car ride sequences are:

Beethoven's Sonata #5 in F Major
Jean Louis Valero's Montmorency Blues
Schumann's Les Chants de l'aube
and Etudes symphoniques by Cecile Vigna