New Cinema
Summer of ’85
Été 85
France/Begium
2020
100'
About
Only teenagers can love this much. The main character of François Ozon’s new film is the sixteen-year-old Alexis who has just recently moved to the Norman coast with his parents. The boy has a literary talent, he’s curious of the world and obsessed about death. When he sails too far away on his little boat, a stranger saves him from serious problems – it was David, a boy as beautiful as a cloudless sky. From here, it’s just one step from a friendship which – as we know from the beginning of the film from Alexis’ relation, who is also the narrator of the story – ends quickly and tragically. To know “how” and “why” one has to be patient, taking delight in the last summer so beautiful in the lives of both boys. Ozon once again proves that he is a talented film stylist and can skilfully intertwine a romantic thread with a criminal one, by the same token fuelling the mysterious atmosphere and the scale of teenage emotions. The mood is splendidly built by music (“Sailing” by Rod Steward!), colours, and above all the duo of two young actors – Felix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin, French cousins of Timothée Chalamet.
The script was loosely based on Aidan Chambers’ novel “Dance on My Grave”.
Credits
Director: François Ozon
Screenwriter: François Ozon
Cinematographer: Hichame Alaouie
Composer: Jean-Benoit Dunckel
Editor: Laure Gardette
Cast: Felix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, Philippine Velge, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Producer : Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
Production Company: Manderin Productions, Foz, France 2 Cinema, Scope Pictures, Playtime Productions