Spring into Summer

The sap rises, the blood flows, lush verdant hues and a robust fecundity abounds: little girls have their first periods, while the heroine and elder sister loses her virginity, not to the bumbling boy she'll perhaps marry but to some oaf who's been around and drives a white sports car. Get the picture? Pascal Thomas' loving picture of the cycle of life in a French village has both humour and an obvious charm; at its best when dealing with the heroine's relationship seen through the eyes of her elders and youngers, or with the banality of her seduction (it's he who undresses behind the screen). But with every shot set up with the same loving care, from the old venerables in the café to our heroine painting her nails, the final impression, for all the warm-heartedness and sensitivity, is of Thomas slowly loving his film to death.