A Tale of Winter

1992 film by Éric Rohmer

A Tale of Winter (; released in the United Kingdom as A Winter's Tale) is a 1992 French drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer, and starring Charlotte Véry, Frédéric van den Driessche, Hervé Furic and Michael Voletti. It is the second instalment in Rohmer's "Contes des quatre saisons" ("Tales of the Four Seasons") series, which also include A Tale of Springtime (1990), A Summer's Tale (1996) and Autumn Tale (1998). The film was entered into the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.

A watershed moment for Félicie in the film is the viewing of The Winter's Tale during her brief relationship with Loïc; specifically the predicament of Queen Hermione, who has been accused of having an illegitimate daughter with another man, is put on trial and flees to Bohemia. Hermione who perishes of a broken heart, is resurrected by the forgiveness of the King when he sees her statue begin to come alive. As a metaphor for Félicie's stunted life, Rohmer uses the play's plot of Hermione's statue to make a reference to Félicie's reawakening as a romantic and melting of her practical persona. Both play and movie use the miracle of the reunion as a final plot line. The scenes of both beach and winter are juxtaposed. The summer setting with bright colors, easy lifestyle representing a flourishing relationship. The city of Paris, in the dead of winter, represents the statue gray, bundled up, restrained and a complete loss of romantic freedom.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on reviews from 22 critics, with an average rating of 7.8/10. Roger Ebert included A Tale of Winter in 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." Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "At least part of the comic appeal of Mr. Rohmer's work is the complete confidence, clarity and decisiveness with which he dramatizes the utter confusion of his emotionally besieged heroines." Hal Hinson of The Washington Post called it "a small work, but nearly perfect."