Plot
In the summer of 1985 in Normandy, Alexis (Alex), a 16-year-old who is fascinated by death, goes out to sea. A thunderstorm forms, causing his boat to capsize, but he is rescued by David, who is eighteen years old. After this incident, they grow very close and Alexis ends up helping out at David's family shop. The two end up having a relationship in secret, however, David claims he is bored and has an affair with Alexis' friend Kate. Alexis gets very angry and confronts David. They get into a fight and Alex throws a rock at David. Luckily he dodges the rock, but Alexis wrecks the shop and runs out. David chases after Alexis, but ends up dying in a motorcycle crash. Alex, feeling guilty, decides to carry out the pact formed between them: to go and dance on the grave of the one who dies first. Alex gets arrested while doing so, but is pitied by the judge and only charged with 140 hours of community service and a strong recommendation to visit a psychiatrist. The film alternates between scenes of the two boys' relationship before David's death, and scenes of the aftermath of the accident, in which Alex finds healing in writing his story for his trial on his literature teacher's recommendation.Cast
*Production
In June 2019, it was announced that Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin and Philippine Velge had joined the cast of the film, with François Ozon directing from a screenplay he wrote. Principal photography began in May 2019.Release
The film was set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2020, prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in France on 14 July 2020. In September 2020, Music Box Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It screened at theReception
Critical reception
''Summer of 85'' holds approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews, with an average of . The site's critical consensus reads, "While not François Ozon's best work, ''Summer of 85'' serves as a beguiling, bittersweet ode to teen love and its lingering after-effects." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 64 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".References
External links
* * * {{François Ozon 2020 films 2020 LGBT-related films 2020 romantic drama films 2020s coming-of-age drama films 2020s French-language films 2020s teen drama films 2020s teen romance films Belgian coming-of-age drama films Belgian LGBT-related films Belgian romantic drama films Belgian teen drama films Coming-of-age romance films French coming-of-age drama films French LGBT-related films French romantic drama films French teen drama films French-language Belgian films Films about death Films about writers Films based on British novels Films based on young adult literature Films directed by François Ozon Films set in 1985 Films set in Normandy Films shot in Normandy Films with screenplays by François Ozon Gay-related films Juvenile sexuality in films LGBT-related coming-of-age films LGBT-related romantic drama films Teen LGBT-related films 2020s French films