An initiatory quest, romance in the sun, horror in the tropics ... The heat of summer offers the perfect setting for telling all kinds of stories on the big screen. While waiting to discover François Ozon's Summer 85 , in theaters next Wednesday, Le Figaro invites you to dive back into ten feature films that bloom well during the summer. Perfect for revising your classics during the summer.
Read also: François Ozon goes back in time with Summer 85 , in "official selection" in Cannes
The Teeth of the Sea , by Steven Spielberg (1975)
Nothing to start this list like the first blockbuster in the history of cinema. Adapted from the eponymous novel by Peter Benchley, the feature film by Steven Spielberg tells the story of the hunt for a shark that spreads terror on a beach in New England. The film was awarded several technical oscars, including best film music. Those who are nostalgic can obviously recall these few notes from John Williams ... as simple as they are terrifying.
Le Rayon vert , by Éric Rohmer (1986)
Named after an optical phenomenon that can be observed during a sunset, Le Rayon vert by Éric Rohmer captures a feeling of summer melancholy. The one experienced by Delphine (Marie Rivière), a young woman dreaming of love and whose ambivalent behavior nevertheless seems to express a need for solitude. This holiday film, shot on a tiny budget, was notably awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Stand By Me , by Rob Reiner (1986)
It's summer, the holidays drag on. Chris, Vern, Teddy and Gordie, four inseparable kids, decide to go on an expedition in search of the body of a teenager whose disappearance makes the headlines. An initiatory tale and a great film about childhood, this adaptation of a short story by Stephen King carried by the title song by Ben E. King revealed the actor River Phoenix to the general public.
Do The Right Thing , by Spike Lee (1989)
Spike Lee follows several Brooklyn residents on a scorching summer day: a pizza delivery boy, a rap fan with a ghetto-blaster, a wanderer trying to sell colorful Martin Luther King and Malcolm X images main ... These two figures of the African American emancipation movement are at the heart of this feature film where Spike Lee observes, 31 years before America was shaken by the images of the death of George Floyd, the police violence against the black community. A great social film with a retro atmosphere that has not yet aged.
The summer of Kikujiro , by Takeshi Kitano (1999)
It's holidays and Masao is bored firm. The nine-year-old boy lives with his grandmother and dreams of finding his mother, whom he has not seen for several years. Helped by Kikujiro, a former yakuza interpreted by Kitano himself, he will go in search of him on a journey through Japan that he will not soon forget. A touching story of friendship magnified by the soundtrack of Joe Hisaishi. Perfect for exploring the land of the Rising Sun with your eyes.
La Plage , by Danny Boyle (2000)
Holidays sometimes rhyme with adventure. Like Richard's. The young American tourist, embodied by Leonardo DiCaprio, decides to leave with a French couple (Guillaume Canet and Virginie Ledoyen) in search of a paradise beach in Thailand where people like him would live in autarky from all over the world . Twenty years after its release, we still dream of the waterfall and the fine sand of the lagoon of Koh Phi Phi Le.
Before Midnight , by Richard Linklater (2013)
Eighteen years after meeting on a train between Budapest and Vienna, Céline and Jesse are now living in Paris. They are married and have two twin daughters. On the last evening of their vacation in Greece, the old bitterness rises to the surface and the couple falters. Will they manage to regain the fiery beginnings? Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke make this last part of the “Before” trilogy shine with a fire as fiery as its predecessors.
Call Me By Your Name , by Luca Guadagnino (2018)
Luca Guadagnino portrays the awakening of desire and the confusion of feelings in this holiday film which will undoubtedly have inspired many stays in Tuscany. Many spectators succumbed to the Latin charm of the Italian film. And like Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer), got lost in the high-ceilinged rooms of the sumptuous Villa Albergoni, the ideal setting for an unforgettable vacation.
Read also: Call Me by Your Name : reasons and feelings
Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno , by Abdellatif Kechiche (2018)
Apprentice scriptwriter based in Paris, Amin is back for a summer in his hometown, Sète. His mother, who runs a restaurant serving Tunisian specialties, wants him to have fun. Between the neighborhood bar and the beach, Amin and his group of friends, boys and girls, drink, flirt and dance. The essential is played in music, at the local bar and then in a nightclub for a mind-blowing, exhausting and exhilarating sequence.
Read also: Mektoub My love by Abdellatif Kechiche, a solar film where desire is king
Midsommar , by Ari Aster (2019)
When is synonymous with nightmare. A gang of American students who have left for Sweden are trapped in a pagan community with morbid rites. Here, horror flourishes in broad daylight and surrounded by nature. Fans of the genre will have noticed Ari Aster's homage to Wicker Man and to “folk horror”. Teenagers looking for Nordic beauty will simply cancel their stay in Scandinavia.
