Summer of 85

"If death doesn't interest you, you better stop right here, this is no story for you," warns 16-year-old Alexis (Félix Lefebvre) at the start of this radiant if overfamiliar coming-of-ager. Facing criminal charges for an unknown misdemeanour, Alexis narrates the story of how, in the summer of 1985, he was rescued from a capsized boat by eighteen-year-old shopkeeper David (Benjamin Voisin). Captivated by David's carefree spirit, Alexis is swept along on a tide of romance and danger, but David's recklessness could spell tragedy for them both. Utilising the seaside Seine-Maritime location to its fullest, François Ozon (Swimming Pool) never skimps on style as he delivers another hypnotic tale of tortured, pretty young things. While the threat of death hangs over the narrative, Summer of 85 is most effective when it embraces life, its sun-kissed romantic scenes artfully capturing the devil-may-care élan of youth. As with much in Ozon's oeuvre, melodrama eventually takes over. But while the story is a (very) familiar one, Lefebvre is a revelation, charting the troubled waters of Alexis's lovestruck summer with such magnetism that resistance proves futile.