Last Summer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Last Summer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 22, 2025

Catherine Breillat's "Last Summer" (2023) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion/Janus Films. The supplemental features on the release include recent program with Catherine Breillat and original trailer. In French, with optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".

Catherine Breillat has always been a risk-taker. Her films veer off in unexpected directions and routinely surprise, so even the bad ones, like Anatomy of Hell, are still worth a look. Breillat’s latest film, Last Summer, continues this trend, but what it does to surprise is unusual even by her flexible standards.

Breillat abruptly inserts herself into the reality of a wealthy, very progressive French family, living in a posh mansion far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin) is a very busy bureaucrat, tormented by his recent discovery that the magnitude of his hard work is underappreciated. Even though he tries hard not to show his frustration at home, he routinely fails. Anne (Lea Drucker), Pierre’s second wife, is a legal professional who takes on complex cases involving abusive parents. She is very busy too and, like Pierre, constantly trying to manage an overwhelming frustration. Theo (Samuel Kircher) is Pierre’s teenage son, who shows his frustration as if it is his brand-new guitar. When his father occasionally pays attention, he dramatically ramps up its intensity and transforms it into pure anger. Only Pierre and Anne’s two pre-adolescent girls, both adopted, always appear happy.

While attempting to be an empathetic mediator between Pierre and Theo, Anne accidentally discovers that she is attracted to the latter, and, at the right time, seduces him. Despite explaining to Theo that she has made an awful mistake, and it is in his, her, and the family’s best interest to terminate what ‘they’ have initiated immediately, while Pierre is away, the two continue making love. At a birthday party, Anne’s sister sees Theo misbehaving again but chooses not to reveal their secret.

Eventually, the secret romantic relationship begins disintegrating, and when Anne attempts to terminate it on her terms, Theo exposes it. After an expensive legal settlement, a domestic one follows as well. However, in the latter, Theo is identified as a manipulative liar who has attempted to drive his father and stepmother apart. With Pierre siding with his loving wife, the dysfunctional family then gradually begins to heal.

Breillat’s latest film is a myth-buster, so it is hardly surprising it received numerous mixed reviews from parties that usually praise her work. It argues that toxic behavior is not a natural trait of one of the two sexes, and that in the current socio-cultural environment the one decrying its supposedly widespread effects is better positioned to justify its use when it is beneficial to it. So Breillat once again has a controversial new film, but this time the provocative in it is something that has always been painfully obvious, which is why it is also her saddest film to date.

The contrasts emerging throughout the film are like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle which eventually will reveal a striking big picture. However, the complete picture becomes easy to see long before Breillat wraps up her film. When Anne explains to Theo that if he goes against her no one will believe him, what is unclear is just how far she is prepared to go while framing him as a vicious immature liar. There is never any doubt that she would manipulate Pierre to side with her, and then use him to force Theo to accept the outcome she desires.

May el-Toukhy’s film Queen of Hearts, which was selected to represent Denmark at the 92nd Academy Awards, tells the same story. However, Breillat’s film, while borrowing the original material that inspired it, was not conceived as a French remake.

Last Summer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Last Sumer arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion/Janus Films.

Last Summer is a very recent film, so the exceptional sharpness, clarity, and depth of its visuals should not be too surprising. The same is true about the range of lush and exceptionally balanced colors, though they are part of an impossible to misidentify contemporary grading job, too. On a large screen, many of these visuals have a near native 4K quality. Fluidity if very, very good, too. Image stability is excellent. Can this film look any better? I do not think so. On my system, it looked very impressive. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Last Summer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Last Summer does not have a prominent music score. It is a dialog-driven feature incorporating various small organic sounds and noise. Unsurprisingly, the dynamic potency of the 5.1 track is limited. In fact, I think that a 2.0 track would have been just as effective for this film. All exchanges are very clear, sharp, stable, and easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.

Last Summer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Meet the Filmmakers - in this recent program, Catherine Breillat explains when and why she decided to become a filmmaker and discusses her relationship with producer Saïd Ben Saïd after they collaborated on Last Summer. Breillat also discusses how different sequences throughout the film were shot. In French, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original U.S. trailer for Last Summer. In French, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring Michael Joshua Rowin's essay "Last Summer: Belle de Jure".

Last Summer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Catherine Breillat's explanation that her films are not about scandal and outrageousness, but extreme romance, makes it easier to understand why her work is often dismissed with a great deal of passion. Breillat tackles material and plays with themes that sometimes push her films too far. This is the case with her latest film, Last Summer, too. However, this time Breillat goes so far that she ends up embracing common sense and delivering a rational myth-buster. Needless to say, Last Summer is the most ironic of her supposedly risqué films. RECOMMENDED.