6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
What do you dream of when you're 16 years old and in a seaside resort in Normandy in the 1980s? A best friend? A lifelong teen pact? Scooting off on adventures on a boat or a motorbike? Living life at breakneck speed? No. You dream of death. Because you can't get a bigger kick than dying. And that's why you save it till the very end. The summer holidays are just beginning, and this story recounts how Alexis grew into himself.
Starring: Benjamin Voisin, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud, Isabelle Nanty, Félix LefebvreForeign | 100% |
Romance | 74% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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".
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 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 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.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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