It pings my OCD that Rohmer followed up Spring with A Tale of Winter (Conte d'hiver) rather than Summer, but less than the English translations of the titles of the Tales of the Four Seasons being all over the place. Be that as it may, they can be viewed in any order. Though this one takes place in the back half of December, it actually starts with one of those vacation romances that are practically a Rohmer trope. Except that it's all done in montage - truly a whirlwind - and then we're 5 years later and the two lovers aren't together, though it's not true to say the absent Charles isn't in Felicie's life. Not only does she have a child by him (a fun, naturalistic little actress), but every other man in her life gets negatively compared to him. Winter is symbolically death (of relationships), but this one is frozen in the ground and if Felicie is unable to make choices, it's because she's fixed in that point in time. But this early part of winter contains the promise Christmas makes of nature's resurrection, and New Year's confirmation of that promise (one of the boyfriends is an intellectual Catholic, not without reason), and Rohmer plays with that too, teasing a miracle for his lead if he can manage it, much like Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale does (as is very overtly referenced in the film).
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MMDan
Charming.Siskoid
It pings my OCD that Rohmer followed up Spring with A Tale of Winter (Conte d'hiver) rather than Summer, but less than the English translations of the titles of the Tales of the Four Seasons being all over the place. Be that as it may, they can be viewed in any order. Though this one takes place in the back half of December, it actually starts with one of those vacation romances that are practically a Rohmer trope. Except that it's all done in montage - truly a whirlwind - and then we're 5 years later and the two lovers aren't together, though it's not true to say the absent Charles isn't in Felicie's life. Not only does she have a child by him (a fun, naturalistic little actress), but every other man in her life gets negatively compared to him. Winter is symbolically death (of relationships), but this one is frozen in the ground and if Felicie is unable to make choices, it's because she's fixed in that point in time. But this early part of winter contains the promise Christmas makes of nature's resurrection, and New Year's confirmation of that promise (one of the boyfriends is an intellectual Catholic, not without reason), and Rohmer plays with that too, teasing a miracle for his lead if he can manage it, much like Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale does (as is very overtly referenced in the film).