May contain spoilers I agree with most of Writers reign's comments, but I think he is mistaken when writing Joseph is Angele's lover too. He repeatedly refuses her advances, which is important to define Joseph's character as an honest man:he is not interested by a girl who sleeps with any and all men. He sure is first attracted physically by Monique, but abandons her when he discovers he loves her daughter and is reciprocated. When he leaves said daughter, it is because he knows she deserves better than a man with no future ( as Monique tells him when he quits the farm), and he certainly does not know she is pregnant. The director chose unusual landscapes, which are beautifully photographed. By the way, Jean-Paul Moncorgé, who plays Paulo, the young farmhand with a lame leg, is the director's son, and thence Jean Gabin's grandson
Review of Le passager de l'été
