“Please, you know how fond I am of Rodica” – a woman’s words to her son, Petru (Alexandru Padadopol). She’s asking Petru, a math professor, to tutor Rodica’s niece Sinziana (Crina Semciuc), even if they both are busy. Both have health problems to manage, but even with that, at least Petru has a love life. Petru subtly pursues Sinziana, and Paul Negoescu’s The Story of a Summer Lover makes them a possible match. There are a few obstacles between him and Sinziana, as she’s just one of the few women on Petru’s mind. The other main contender for Petru’s heart is Irina (Nicoleta Lefter), who knows he can’t commit.

Petru’s life seems busy enough as it is and yet he’s good enough to maintain some old friendships. His two buddies are theatre actor Andi (Rolando Matsangos) and writer Silviu (Radu Romaniuc), who writes sci-fi. Petru’s recent romantic entanglements, though, are compelling enough for Silviu to temporarily switch genres, serving as our narrator. Audiences can hear Silviu’s voice as Petru either gets another fling or comically fumbles the bag with them. For example, a hookup session with another girlfriend, Ilona (Olimpia Malai) gets an unwelcome interruption from pigeons. It’s details like this that make The Story of a Summer Lover more than a bland character study of a 40ish man.

Petru, obviously, is central to The Story of a Summer Lover, compelling because he’s a flawed, unlikely protagonist. Unlike earlier world cinema, this film doesn’t dress him up as more than an average man needing personality. He’s neurotic, because what kind of man over 35 isn’t, but without giving him the vibes of a loser. Scenes between him and female characters show how his generation can navigate conversations without pushing himself on them. At the risk of sounding like a middle aged grump myself, younger generations can learn things from him. The difference between cinema and straight propaganda is showing imperfections, and this film belongs to the former category.

Despite its commitment to showing some realism, the male gaze still dominates The Story of a Summer Lover. The B-roll footage with narration is probably the film’s weakest aspect, still showing how men want to see themselves. And despite the film’s meta narrative nature, it still sees women as objects for men’s romantic pursuit. Maybe I’m giving this film a lot of slack because of its meta narrative nature but self-awareness is good. It’s still aware that there are circumstances that shape men who don’t know what they want from love. Maybe it’s the hetero normative world we live in but sometimes love just falls on to undeserving men’s laps.

Stream The Story of a Summer Lover on OVID.