Summer of 85

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1:40

Summer of 85

Released Jun 18, 2021

1h 41m

Drama

Romance

LGBTQ+

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Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

102 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

When Alexis capsizes off the coast of France, David comes to the rescue and opens his eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art and sexual bliss.

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Critics Consensus

While not François Ozon's best work, Summer of 85 serves as a beguiling, bittersweet ode to teen love and its lingering after-effects.

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

"Summer of 85" balances intriguingly but a little too murkily on a fulcrum of unreliable narration, and it becomes impossible to tell whether Ozon means us to take the story at face value or undercutting Alex's own melodramatic pronouncements.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 7, 2021

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Ann Hornaday

Washington Post

Despite some distracting contrivances, "Summer of 85" transports viewers to a place, time and feeling that feel altogether real, and not nearly as far away as they initially might seem.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 24, 2021

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Claudia Puig

FilmWeek (LAist)

It's all predicated on the strength of [Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin's] performances, and they're really good.

Jun 22, 2021

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Serena Seghedoni

Loud and Clear Reviews

In Summer of 85 (Été 85), François Ozon puts his own spin on Aidan Chambers’ coming-of-age novel Dance On My Grave, crafting a complex, meaningful story about love, loss and growth.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 13, 2023

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Mo Muzammal

Vague Visages

Summer of 85 is a well-designed coming-of-age work that makes for a sentimental and sensual drama, even if it fails to meet its potential.

Jul 27, 2023

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Juan Barquin

them.

French director François Ozon has been delivering nothing but gems for decades now...

Nov 2, 2022

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Virginie

The summer aesthetic was nice and enjoyable but the characters were incredibly under-developed and I didnt feel the romance progressed in a natural, believable way. Seemed like all the characters introduced themselves and became incredibly fast friends/love interests right away I get it was supposed to encompass the feeling of a summer fling but the screenplay was disappointing to me and lacked substance. While tragedy was inevitable, I found myself unmoved by what happened to the characters because I didnt feel attached to them at all and had no sympathy for their plights because of how surface-level it all seemed. The ingredients were all there but the execution fell flat to me.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/29/21

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Dotson Rader

Convincing love story, beautifully played.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/19/21

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Patrick

Great movie. The actors were amazing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/19/21

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Garry A

The first half of the movie was good. There was real chemistry between the two young men. After one of them died it became too melodramatic.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/12/25

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Audience Member

Wow 😍👍 I definitely recommend this.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/01/25

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Kalissa H

Way better than I thought it would be. I like that the movie took place in two times in Alex’s life.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

Full Review

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François Ozon

Director

Félix Lefebvre

Alexis

Benjamin Voisin

David

Philippine Velge

Kate

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi

Madame Gorman

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Summer of 85: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When Alexis capsizes off the coast of France, David comes to the rescue and opens his eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art and sexual bliss.

Director: François Ozon
Producer: Éric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
Screenwriter: François Ozon, Aidan Chambers
Distributor: Music Box Films
Production Co: Scope Pictures, Mandarin Films
Genre: Drama, Romance, LGBTQ+
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 18, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 17, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.7K
Runtime: 1h 41m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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