Overview
A poignant exploration of youthful dreams and the bittersweet nature of first love in a seaside paradise.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- nostalgic
- sensual
- melancholic
- summer viewing
- romantic evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's sensitive, unsentimental portrait of contrasting teenage personalities and the emotional complications of first love.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Alexis gradually recognizes the gap between David's charm and the image of David he constructed through their intense summer relationship.
Alexis's development is connected to recounting the summer and to his evolving understanding of himself, love, guilt, and loss.
The six-week relationship is remembered as life-changing while remaining shadowed by tragedy and the knowledge that youthful intimacy cannot last unchanged.
The seaside resort, sailing, motorbikes, summer holidays, and coastal landscapes frame Alexis and David's accelerated adolescent romance.
Films like Summer of 85, and why
Call Me by Your Name
shared queer coming of age, first-love intensity, summer setting, and bittersweet emotional realism
La Boum
shared french seaside adolescence, teenage romance, nostalgic 1980s atmosphere, and family drama
God's Own Country
shared queer desire, idealized romance, jealousy, and psychologically layered young protagonists
The Way He Looks
shared romantic obsession, adolescent self-discovery, and melancholy examination of love and loss
Movie Details
- Director
- François Ozon
- Release Date
- 2020-07-14
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (951)
Cast
- Félix Lefebvre
- Benjamin Voisin
- Philippine Velge
- Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
- Melvil Poupaud
- Isabelle Nanty
- Laurent Fernandez
- Aurore Broutin
- Bruno Lochet
- Yoann Zimmer
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, France Channel Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Summer of 85 about?
- A sixteen-year-old’s feverish Normandy romance becomes a bittersweet passage through desire, idealization, guilt, and loss.
- What is Summer of 85 like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Summer of 85 as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Summer of 85 violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Summer of 85 as mild.
- What did critics think of Summer of 85?
- Critics broadly praised the film's sensitive, unsentimental portrait of contrasting teenage personalities and the emotional complications of first love.
- Which films are like Summer of 85?
- Films with a similar feel include Call Me by Your Name, La Boum, God's Own Country, and The Way He Looks.
- How long is Summer of 85?
- Summer of 85 runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Summer of 85?
- In United States, Summer of 85 streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, France Channel Amazon Channel.
