A Day in the Country (1936): Film Notes and Scores

Director:

Cast:

Poster artwork for A Day in the Country — Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

A Paris shopkeeper's family picnics by the Seine, where daughter Henriette shares a brief connection with a local boatman.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

On a summer outing from Paris, the Dufour family stops at a riverside inn for lunch, swings, and boating. Shopkeeper's daughter Henriette and mother are courted by local men Henri and Rodolphe before a storm ends the afternoon.

Why it belongs

Through leaves, water, weather, movement, and Sylvia Bataille's openness to a possible life, A Day in the Country makes one unfinished summer encounter ache.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

A swing, fishing poles, river current, rustling trees, rowboats, sudden rain, and Joseph Kosma's music make nature emotionally active. The film's incompleteness strengthens the sense of time irretrievably passing.

Major award wins

No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.

Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

Good for

Film Club

Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound136IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—

Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness9.1

Engagement7.5

Ease6.8

French · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Romantic & Reflective

Find your nextgreat film.

Find your next
great film.