Summer of 85

2020

1h 41m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

876

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3 Videos

72 Images

Romance

Drama

What do you dream of when you're 16-years-old and in a seaside resort in Normandy in the 1980s? A best friend? A lifelong teen pact? Scooting off on adventures on a boat or a motorbike? Living life at breakneck speed? No. You dream of death. Because you can't get a bigger kick than dying. And that's why you save it till the very end. The summer holidays are just beginning, and this story recounts how Alexis grew into himself.

Directors

François Ozon

Writers

François Ozon(screenplay by)

Aidan Chambers(novel by)

Stars

Félix Lefebvre

Benjamin Voisin

Philippine Velge

See production, box office & company info

Videos3

Photos72

Top cast

Félix Lefebvre

Alexis Robin

Benjamin Voisin

David Gorman

Philippine Velge

Kate

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi

Madame Gorman

Mr. Lefèvre

Madame Robin

Mr. Robin

The Educator

Bernard

Luc

Chris

The Judge

Samuel Brafman-Moutier

Gorman's Brother

Benjamin Allouche

The Rabbi

Directors

François Ozon

Writers

François Ozon(screenplay by)

Aidan Chambers(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews2

Review

Featured review

7/10

Félix Lefebvre (who reminded me, here, of a young Charlie Hunnam in "Queer as Folk" (1999)) is sixteen year old "Alex" who takes his friend's dinghy out for a sail and gets caught in a thunderstorm that capsizes his boat. Luckily for him, Benjamin Voisin ("David") is nearby and tows him ashore and into his mother's recuperative bathtub! The next six weeks are now depicted in a cleverly interwoven mix of current and recent storylines as we realise that a tragedy has occurred and that the two young men had something of a relationship during the intervening period. On the face of it - it's just a gay coming of age drama, but Levebvre has an intensity and innocence about him. His performance as the young man who falls so completely and utterly in love is heart-rending, sincere and stylishly captured by the photography - and must remind all of us of that first, inexplicable, "love" that we may well still recall to this day. To be fair, it is easy to see why he fell for the charismatic, exciting "David" - who offers him profound changes to his life, and to the rather linear options that most of us faced at 16 - job or school - but the story is more nuanced than that and though it is certainly not without some fairly substantial holes and inconsistencies, it sort of works. The Cure's "In Between Days" and an oddly effective "Sailing" from Rod Stewart provide a remarkably potent soundtrack that resonates not just the moment, but the sentiment too. Not, maybe, Ozon's finest work but I suspect we may see more roles from his young star in the future.

Geronimo196727 Mar, 2022