MathFiction: Conte d'ete (Eric Rohmer)

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Conte d'ete (1996)

Eric Rohmer
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With a title that can be translated as "A Summer's Tale", this is the third film in Rohmer's "seasons" series, preceeded by tales of spring and winter and followed by a tale of autumn in 1998. In this French film, the protagonist is a young mathematician/musician exploring his romantic possibilities.

Thanks to Jaime Navarrete for pointing it out to me!

Contributed by Alejandro Martin

The only math in the film is that the main character studies mathematics. I loved that and loved the film. Usually mathematicians in the movies are the strangest people. Here not, he is pretty normal. He is acute and intelligent, but not a nerd, no following patterns everywhere. He preffers to follow girls like most of the mathematicians I know. In fact, he was very similar to a classmate I had when I studied mathematics. (It may have helped that Rohmer, the director, did study mathematics)

More information about this work can be found at us.imdb.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to Conte d'ete

According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:

An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender
Good Will Hunting by Gus Van Sant (director) / Matt Damon (Screenplay)
Proof by David Auburn
Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg
The Housekeeper and the Professor (Hakase No Aishita Sushiki) by Yoko Ogawa
Moebius by Gustavo Daniel Mosquera R.
Antonia's Line by Marleen Gorris
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Morte di un matematico napoletano by Mario Martone (director)
Pi by Darren Aronofsky (director)

Ratings for Conte d'ete:

Ratings

Have you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.

Mathematical Content:
1.33/5 (3 votes)

Literary Quality:
4/5 (3 votes)

Categories:

Genre
Motif
Topic
Medium	Films,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)