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Summer of ‘85
Directed by François Ozon
$12 / $8 Speed and Alliance Française Louisville members
“Stylishly mounted and sensitively played.”—Ed Potton, The Times
When Alexis (Félix Lefebvre) capsizes off the coast of Normandy, David (Benjamin Voisin) comes to the rescue and soon opens the younger boy’s eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art, and sexual bliss. David’s worldly demeanor and Jewish heritage deliver an ardent jolt to Alexis’s traditional, working-class upbringing.
After Alexis begins working at the seaside shop owned by David’s mother (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), the two lovers steal every possible moment for a fugitive kiss, a motorcycle ride, or a trip to the cinema. Their relationship is soon rocked by a host of challenges, including an unexpected sexual rival (Philippine Velge) and a romantic oath that transcends life itself. While their summer fling lasts just six weeks, it casts a shadow over a lifetime.
Adapted by François Ozon from Aidan Chambers’s groundbreaking LGBT young adult novel Dance on My Grave, Summer of 85 is a sexy, nostalgic reverie of first love and its consequences from one of France’s most versatile filmmakers. A selection of the Toronto International Film Festival. 2020, France, DCP, in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes. Recommended for 16+