Film

Summer with the gentleman

Name: Summer with the gentleman
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Released: 2019
Cast: Jaromír Hanzlík, Alena Antalová, Igor Bareš, Lucie Vondráčková, Miroslav Šimůnek

Comedy
Slow-burning

A Czech comedy about Anna, whose comfortable but distant marriage gets upended when a charming stranger arrives in her small-town summer neighborhood. It's a warm, gently comic story about desire, companionship and the way routines can calcify a relationship. For anyone who enjoys modest European comedies with a romantic spark and real feeling underneath.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy gentle comedies about long marriages that have gone quiet, where the humour comes from small domestic habits and a slow, affectionate look at middle-aged restlessness.

Skip it if you want sharp jokes or a tightly built plot, since its comedy is soft and its pace drifts between pub visits and bike rides.

What it asks of you: A patient, unhurried watch of about ninety-eight minutes, with long quiet stretches and a light touch; it rewards attention to small gestures rather than big set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Mamma Mia!2008

A sun-drenched, good-natured film about a woman reclaiming her own narrative and agency. It has the same lightness of touch and emotional honesty wrapped in charm that makes Summer with the Gentleman work.

But It's a musical, and if ABBA songs feel more like an obstacle than a gift, you'll spend half the runtime resisting rather than enjoying it.

About Time2013

Quietly explores how marriage becomes invisible to us, and what it takes to see your partner again. The balance of humor and genuine tenderness mirrors this film exactly.

But The time-travel plot device doesn't really add much, and some scenes verge on saccharine in a way that undercuts the tougher emotional truths.

The Grand Budapest Hotel2014

A comedy that treats charm and human connection as seriously as it treats the laugh. European sensibility, warmth, and the sense that small moments matter enormously.

But Wes Anderson's style is intensely mannered; if his visual precision feels fussy rather than fun to you, it will grate throughout.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Summer with the gentleman

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Happy as Lazzaro2018

Both are European films about desire and companionship that find their emotional center in small acts of attention and seeing someone truly. Lazzaro just takes that through a stranger, more otherworldly route.

An Italian magical-realist film about a man who loves too purely, whose kindness becomes its own form of disruption. It shares Summer's interest in how we make meaning from daily life and connection, but approaches it through an almost fable-like lens instead of comedy.

But The tone is deliberately strange and the ending is ambiguous in a way that may frustrate rather than reward; it requires patience with opacity.

Amélie2001

European romantic comedy that finds magic in small-town life and ordinary people. Whimsical but not precious, with genuine stakes beneath the charm.

But The tone is so self-consciously quirky it can feel cloying, and some scenes rely on manic pixie dream girl dynamics that haven't aged perfectly.

Local Hero1983

A film about a man sent to a small community who finds that routine life contains unexpected depth and connection. Gentle, funny, and unexpectedly moving.

But The pacing is deliberately slow and the humor is underplayed; if you need constant forward momentum you'll find it dawdles.

The Straight Story1999

David Lynch's sole G-rated film is a genuine love letter to small-town America, routine life, and the connections that sustain us. It has the same quiet affection for ordinary people.

But It's 112 minutes about an elderly man on a riding lawnmower. If the premise doesn't intrigue you, nothing will.

Beginners2011

A film about midlife transformation and seeing your spouse or partner clearly again. Tender and intelligent, with a lived-in quality that resonates.

But It's melancholic and introspective; there's no real comic release, and some viewers find that combination draining.

Dekalog1989

Kieslowski's ten-part exploration of ordinary Polish lives navigating love, desire, routine, and morality. Each episode is a small masterpiece of European cinema.

But They're slow-paced, sometimes austere, and require genuine attention; one episode per sitting works better than binging.

A Man and a Woman1966

A beautiful, witty French romance about two adults finding connection after loss. The cinematography is stunning and the emotional truth is unshakeable.

But It's a 1966 film that sometimes feels very much of its era; some dialogue and attitudes read as dated now.

Ikiru1952

Summer with the Gentleman is essentially the lighter, comedic answer to Ikiru's tragic question: what happens when you realize your marriage has become invisible to you both? This asks the same question and actually allows for recovery.

Kurosawa's masterpiece about a man realizing his marriage is hollow and his life is passing unseen. It's the spiritual ancestor of every film about midlife recognition and the hunger for genuine connection.

But It's a three-hour Japanese film from 1952 in black and white about a dying bureaucrat. The pace and tone will feel very distant if you're not prepared for them.