SUMMER OF 85 MOVIE REVIEW

What is love? Baby, don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me, no more. Well, in the case of 16-year-old Alexis Robin, love began and ended in the “Summer of 85”, while boating off the coast of France and capsizing in an approaching storm. He almost drowns before being rescued by David, a handsome and charming lothario who ultimately ends up as the friend of Alex’s dreams. But we are given a dire warning as the movie begins with Alexis in cuffs: This is a movie about death, and if death doesn’t interest you — If you don’t want to hear about a corpse Alexis knew when he was alive, if you don’t want to know what happened to him that summer, and how he became a corpse, you’d better stop right here. However, it is a story for Rose, Chad, Marcos, and T.C. of the Screen Squad to discuss over coffee and cigarettes. This is the French-Belgian romantic drama “Summer of 85”, written and directed by François Ozon, partly based upon the 1982 novel “Dance on My Grave” by Aidan Chambers, starring Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin.

**This review is available in a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers and above right here**

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: François Ozon

STARRING: Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, Philippine Velge, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud, Isabelle Nanty, Laurent Fernandez, Aurore Broutin, Bruno Lochet, Yoann Zimmer, Antoine Simoni

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Rose Mattox (Screener Squad, Eye On The Prize)

Originally hailing from Austin then Houston, Rose has been an avid movie and TV fanatic pretty much since birth. She spends spending her days watching Star Trek reruns, 60’s spy fiction, and Audrey Hepburn movies with her beloved minion (see: dog Riley). She also occasionally dabbles in comedy, screenwriting, as well as graphic and interior design. Rose has been contributing to One of Us since 2019 as a member of the Screener Squad, as well as making regular appearances on Eye on the Prize during awards season. She can be found on Twitter at @nightattheopera.

 

 

Chad Halvorsen (Screener Squad)

Chad Halvorsen currently resides in Milwaukee, WI, where he produces and edits commercials, films, and everything in between. He was always a fan of film/television growing up, spending days in the Summer, making (terrible) home movies with his brothers. Little did he know that passion would carry on into adulthood. Since 2006, Chad has worked for several agencies in various departments. Shooting, producing, editing, production management, directing, and when forced to, writing copy. In 2015, Chad decided to take the big leap and become a freelancer. Since then, he’s produced content for Lyft, AT&T, Target, and Discovery Network. His passion lies in entertaining people, making them feel better, even for a moment. All the pain and suffering of this business is worth it, if even just one person views his work. Chad is a frequent podcaster, most notably posing as a co-host for the podcast “The Film Illogical Society.”

 

 

Marcos Lira (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Me? I come from the South, Out there, beyond the horizon by the big river. Out there where the bandits formed cities, and the gambling is legal. I got into movies like most nerds by watching Tarantino but fell in love with movies through Chinese Cinema for some reason. A few of my favorite things would probably be live music, new experiences, and belt-fed ammunition. You can catch this occasional podcaster, occasional other Marco and full-time human on any form of social media by typing jlmarcos62. Hit me up for music suggestions and bad jokes.

 

 

T.C.