It would be out of character for French filmmaker François Ozon, a master of tragedy and transgression, to make a film devoid of any dark corners, and Summer of 85 is no exception—yet it's his lightest, brightest film to date, both literally and figuratively. Shot in gorgeous 16mm and set in a resort town, like many of his films (including his 1997 debut See the Sea), the story centers on Alex (Félix Lefebvre), an unformed, inexperienced 16-year-old from a working-class home. That will change for the better and worse when he meets David (Benjamin Voisin), a more experienced 18-year-old who left school to help his mother (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) run their sailing gear store after his father's passing. Like a white knight in swim trunks, David swoops in to help Alex when he capsizes a friend's sailboat.
After David helps him bring it to shore, he invites Alex over to change into dry clothes. Once there, David’s solicitous mother pours him a bath, undresses him, and makes him a cup of tea. It's all a bit much, but he goes along with it, flustered and happy. He and David become instantly inseparable, hanging out at the beach, working together at the store, and zipping around town on David's motorbike. And then, just like that, the mercurial David decides he's had enough of him, and Alex experiences his first real, crushing heartbreak.
Since Ozon frames the story like a puzzle, alternating between the present and the recent past, it's clear from the start that David won't make it to the end, but its vague how Alex may have been involved, only that a social worker (Aurore Broutin), a new friend (Philippine Velge), and a teacher (Ozon regular Melvil Poupard, Time to Leave) are eager to help him in any way they can.
In interviews, including the two that accompany this release, Ozon has said that he first read Aidan Chambers' 1982 young adult novel, Dance on My Grave, in 1984 when he was 16. The British writer's unapologetic depiction of young gay lives made such a lasting impression that Ozon considered adapting it as his first film, but the timing wasn’t right, so he set the project aside for the next 35 years.
In both book and film, Alex and David don't come out, nor do they experience discrimination, though Ozon strongly suggests that their mothers know what's going on. Alex may not be conflicted about his identity, but he's ill-equipped to handle his outsized feelings for David. Unlike some previous Ozon protagonists, however, it doesn't destroy him. If the film doesn't completely satisfy as a mystery, Lefebvre and Voisin are consistently excellent, both together and separately. This Blu-ray release includes 1996 short, Summer Dress, which predicts Summer of 85 in fascinating ways, not least the way a foreign-born woman affects the relationship between two men. Sharp-eyed viewers will also notice that the same floral dress appears in both films. Recommended.