Keswick Film Club - Summer of 85

Synopsis

This is the sixth Francois Ozon film we have shown here in Keswick, which have covered many genres as his fame grew. With 'Summer of 85' he is firmly back with the genre that he started with: "In those days, the surfaces of his films seemed to radiate with sexual energy — like prickling hairs on bare skin — while a kind of lusty homicidal danger lurked just out of sight. 'Summer of 85' reminds us what makes the Ozon touch so unique" – Peter Debruge, Variety.

"Based on the British novel 'Dance on My Grave' by Aidan Chambers, Ozon's adaptation transports events to Northern France focusing on Alex, a death-obsessed 16-year-old in need of a friend during a long hot summer. After capsizing a boat on the sea, he's saved by David, confident and slightly older, who immediately takes him under his wing. The two become fast friends before something else more passionate quickly takes over" – Benjamin Lee, Guardian... But we see all of this in flashback after a tragedy has occurred...

"Nobody since Eric Rohmer gets the joys and the agony of young love under the French summer sun as well as Ozon does, time and again; cinematographer Hichame Alaouie working with Ozon for the first time, captures the director's sense both of bright days that seem to stretch on to eternity and intimate spaces that become a character's whole world" – Alonso Duralde, The Wrap.