A Tale of Winter

Synopsis

During her summer holidays young Félicie falls in love with a handsome cook named Charles. He plans to leave for America at the end of the Summer. Félicie gives Charles her address hoping for further contact. Out of nervousness she makes a mistake in the address and consequently he fails to find her. Five years later Félicie is a single mother raising Charles' daughter. While still sustaining a strong hope that one day she'll meet Charles again, she carries on a somewhat normal day-to-day life. As Christmas comes and goes, she's having difficulty choosing between her two lovers... the hair dresser Maxence and the librarian Loic, both patiently waiting for her to commit. Eventually, as New Year's Eve approaches she decides that she can't be happy with either of them. At the end of the film Félicie's faith in providence is rewarded when she 'accidentally' finds Charles again and they are as passionately attracted as they were five years before. The film ends on a high note.... with the expectation that everyone will live happily ever after.

Cast

Reception

Review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes reports 94% approval among 18 critics, with an average rating of 8/10. Film critic Roger Ebert added A Tale of Winter to his Great Movies series in 2001, writing, "What pervades Rohmer's work is a faith in love--or, if not love, then in the right people finding each other for the right reasons. There is sadness in his work but not gloom."