Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Summer of 85 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 3, 2021

It's maybe just a little disconcerting to hear François Ozon mention in an interview included on this Blu-ray disc as a supplemental feature that he made Summer of 85 because he wanted to fashion a "lighter summer movie". That slight feeling of disconnect may be due to the fact that, while Summer of 85 is in fact kind of warmly breezy and inviting like a beautiful sunny day, there's also a subtext of tragedy running through the story, as is disclosed in the film's very opening moments, where a teenaged French boy named Alexis Robin (Félix Lefebvre) has a bit of internal monologue delivered by voiceover where he gets into his fascination with Death ("with a capital D", as he states), and how the film is going to document how someone "became a corpse". The fact that things may be in dire straits is alluded to by the clear indication that Alexis seems to be in a police station and is seemingly defiant about something , as evidenced by a rather remarkable "sting" right before the credits where Alexis' narration suddenly turns into a riveting announcement Alexis delivers out loud while staring directly at the camera where he, in discussing how death is going suffuse this tale, warns the audience the film may not be "for you".

The film soon segues to a flashback showing Alexis hitting up a friend of his who has a sailboat for an afternoon trek on the (gorgeous) sea near Normandy. The friend has other plans (a rather lovely young woman), and tells Alexis he can take the boat out himself. Alexis does so, finally dropping the sail out in the water so that he can catch a bit of sun, but his reverie is interrupted by a sudden violent storm, and when he tries to get his jib back up, the boat capsizes, just as lightning, thunder and considerable rain start surrounding him as he clings to the underside of the craft. Into this literal storm glides an older boy named David Gorman (Benjamin Voisin), who instructs Alexis how to right his upside down boat and then tows the boy back to safety. A frankly kind of weird (if somehow very French) interlude with David's mother (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) ensues when David brings Alexis back home to help him warm up and dry off, and for a moment it seems like Ozon may be going the same route that Agnes Varda did in Kung-Fu Master! (available as part of the immense set from The Criterion Collection called The Complete Films of Agnès Varda).

Instead, however, it's the relationship between David and Alexis that takes center stage, albeit with the understanding that Alexis, in another voiceover moment, has already identified David as the "future cadaver". That gives this "coming of age" romance an undeniable inherent tension, as the two young men start to explore a new relationship (in a mid-80s environment where AIDS hadn't yet become a known threat) and experience both the positives and negatives of a passionate affair. There are a number of supporting characters hanging around the edge of the story, including the aforementioned mother of David, but also Alexis' more hardscrabble parents, but Summer of 85 is in many ways a so- called "two hander", and the film benefits immensely from the naturalistic performances of relative newcomers Lefebvre and Voisin.

Ozon isn't above some pretty blatant misdirection in terms of the subtext of death, and without posting any outright spoilers, suffice it to say the certain parts of the film clearly suggest that Alexis is in more legal peril than he ultimately turns out to be. That may be a slight and unnecessary misstep for a film that in this particular instance may admittedly hint at some of Ozon's more suspense filled works, but which otherwise seems more concerned with how "first love" can affect impressionable youths.

Summer of 85 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Summer of 85 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Music Box Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. I'm frankly not sure Ozon did himself any favors by choosing to shoot such a spectacularly scenic film in 16mm, though some may like the grittier "handmade" appearance that that choice gives this presentation. As can probably be readily made out in many of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, as expected with this smaller format, grain can look quite pronounced at times, and in certain selected scenes, notably darker moments or some backlit scenes in theaters or clubs, things can look slightly pixellated in this transfer (see screenshots 17 through 19 for a few isolated examples). That said, the brightly lit outdoor material pops beautifully, with a richly suffused palette and quite commendable fine detail levels aided and abetted by Ozon's frequent use of close-ups (see screenshot 2).

Summer of 85 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Summer of 85 features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes in the original French. The surround track definitely opens up the soundstage in a number of notable scenes, including even in the opening vignette of Alexis being hauled through the police station, where things like the sliding and clanging steel doors have considerable depth and breadth. Later in the storm scene, the surround track also noticeably ups the sonic energy, delivering a wider representation of effects and more depth in the midrange and lower. A club scene also provides good engagement of the side and rear channels and scenes like the two guys tooling around on a motorcycle also offer well placed ambient environmental effects. Dialogue and an enjoyable score (with quite a few source cues) are rendered without any problems whatsoever. Optional English subtitles are available.

Summer of 85 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Q & A with François Ozon, Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin (HD; 22:41) is a charming Zoom like affair moderated by Maddie Whittle of Lincoln Center. Ozon is by himself, while Lefebvre and Voisin are together in what looks like a movie theater (perhaps echoing a scene in the film itself). All three of the interview subjects speak rather good English, but kind of charmingly there's also an interpreter named Anna Ribotta who pops up occasionally to help bridge colloquialisms.


• Interview with with François Ozon and the Actors (HD; 10:37) is a more standard promotional tour set of interviews with the same trio as above. In French with English subtitles.


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 8:39)


• Outtakes (HD; 14:31)


• 35 mm and 16mm Film Tests (HD; 1:55) is an interesting if brief comparison of various shots done in both 35 mm and 16 mm.


• Light and Costume Tests (HD; 4:03)


• Dance Choreography (HD; 2:47)


• Fight Rehearsal (HD; 1:04)


• Poster Gallery (HD; 2:08)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:41)


• A Summer Dress (HD; 15:56) is a short film by Ozon.

Summer of 85 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Summer of 85 may not in fact strike some viewers as being totally "light", to quote Monsieur Ozon, but the film is undeniably gorgeous and features two very winning performances by its focal duo. The film was culled rather interestingly from a British book called I Dance on My Grave, a title which obviously is as suffused with Death (with a capital D) that Alexis warns prospective viewers the film version is going to be, but that said, I'm not sure Ozon needed to resort to a "suspense" angle in the film (which will be instantly obvious to audience members, but which won't be overtly detailed here). Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplementary package is very enjoyable. Recommended.