Summer of 85 (Été 85), directed by renowned French filmmaker François Ozon, is a sun-drenched, melancholic tale of first love, heartbreak, and obsession. Adapted from Aidan Chambers’ cult novel Dance on My Grave, the film follows 16-year-old Alexis and 18-year-old David—two boys whose summer romance on the coast of Normandy burns bright and dies even faster.
The story begins with a rescue: Alexis capsizes during a solo sailing trip and is saved by the magnetic David. Their bond intensifies into a passionate affair, but as jealousy and possessiveness creep in—and an outsider named Kate threatens their balance—things take a tragic turn. With dual timelines and a haunting promise to “dance on the grave” of the first to die, Summer of 85 becomes both a coming-of-age tale and an eerie meditation on love and death.
Summer of 85 Official Trailer
Summer of 85 Summary | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Summer of 85 (エゴイスト) |
| Series Info: | Japan (2020) |
| Length: | 100 minutes |
| Is Summer of 85 BL? | Yes, there's a BL romance. |
| Genre: | Romance, Drama, Boy's love |
Plot
Set in a coastal town in Normandy during the summer of 1985, Summer of 85 (Été 85) tells the story of 16-year-old Alexis, an introspective boy who is saved from a boating accident by the charming and free-spirited 18-year-old David. What begins as a dreamy teenage romance quickly transforms into an intense emotional entanglement marked by jealousy, obsession, and a pact: whoever dies first, the other will dance on their grave.
As their relationship deepens, Alexis becomes possessive, while David’s fleeting, thrill-seeking nature begins to surface. When a girl named Kate enters the picture, cracks appear in their bond. The story jumps between past and present, blending romantic memory with the aftermath of grief, culminating in a controversial act of mourning that tests the boundaries between love, loss, and self-identity.
The film explores the violence of first love, the illusion of forever, and the painful realization that desire and memory can twist even the purest of affections.
Summer of 85 Cast
Charactor
David is an 18-year-old heartthrob—charming, confident, and restless. He lives fast, flirts freely, and prefers the thrill of the moment over any long-term emotional commitment. While he appears carefree, there’s a deeper sadness to David, hinted at through his fixation on speed and death.
Benjamin Voisin
Benjamin Voisin was nominated for a César Award for his magnetic performance as David. He’s since become one of France’s rising stars, with roles in Lost Illusions and Green Shutters. In Summer of 85, he channels both erotic appeal and emotional volatility, creating a complex object of desire.
Alexis is a 16-year-old boy with a passion for literature, sailing, and daydreaming. He’s quiet, emotionally intense, and deeply romantic—perhaps to a fault. After being rescued from a capsized boat by David, he is pulled into a whirlwind of love, longing, and eventual loss. His obsessive nature and idealism define much of the emotional arc of the film, as he struggles to reconcile fantasy with reality in the wake of grief.
Félix Lefebvre
Félix Lefebvre stars as Alexis, a quiet, introspective teenager who experiences his first love—and devastating grief—over the course of a single summer. Lefebvre’s performance is emotionally honest and remarkably mature, capturing the awkward longing and obsessive idealism of queer adolescence. He brings softness to a character that is often dramatic, making Alexis both frustrating and deeply relatable.
Director
François Ozon
François Ozon is one of France’s most celebrated directors, known for films like Swimming Pool, Frantz, In the House, and 8 Women. His work often explores identity, sexuality, and death, with a flair for suspense and psychological nuance.In Summer of 85, Ozon adapts Aidan Chambers’ Dance on My Grave through a distinctly French lens. He infuses the story with sensuality, ambiguity, and irony—pushing past conventional queer tropes to explore how grief and obsession distort our sense of love. With nods to his own filmography (like the cross-dressing morgue scene reminiscent of Summer Dress), this is classic Ozon: playful, melancholic, and bold.
MOVIE HIGHLIGHT
Voisin is no stranger to emotionally fraught roles. After Summer of 85, he starred in Lost Illusions, where his talent for embodying men torn between ambition and desire continued to shine. Though he doesn’t exclusively work in LGBTQ+ roles, Voisin has shown himself to be an ally in interviews, stating that “human connection” is always more important than labels—and that queer stories deserve just as much emotional weight as any love story.
Fans of Ozon will recognize his trademarks here: voiceovers, shifting timelines, death as transformation, and flawed young men navigating identity. It’s both a tender homage to queer adolescence and a cheeky challenge to romantic clichés.
Shot on 16mm film and drenched in nostalgic warmth, Summer of 85 nails its period setting without becoming a pastiche. From the music (The Cure, Rod Stewart) to fashion and film grain, it transports you back—without losing its emotional relevance.
Summer of 85 Review
Review
⭐ Story – 4.0 / 5
On paper, Summer of 85 may sound like another teen romance: two boys fall in love, grow obsessed, get hurt, and one dies tragically. But the film cleverly shifts between past and present, memory and regret, using Alexis’ retrospective narration to frame the relationship not as pure love, but as a teenage fixation tinged with ego and delusion.
Themes of possessive love vs. freedom, mourning as self-expression, and the performativity of youth are embedded in the narrative, particularly through the “dance on my grave” pact. David lives fast, dies young, and leaves behind a confused Alexis trying to preserve not David himself, but the idea of David.
It’s less about romance, and more about emotional consumption. What starts as fireworks slowly decomposes into a boy’s coming-of-age through grief, guilt, and obsession.
⭐ Acting – 4.5 / 5
Félix Lefebvre gives Alexis a fragile sensitivity, mixing adolescent arrogance with helpless yearning. His performance is particularly moving in moments of internal collapse—whether he’s begging David not to leave or dancing alone on his grave in manic catharsis.
Benjamin Voisin, as David, radiates charisma. He’s the kind of boy who knows he’s beautiful and dangerous—and he weaponizes that casually. His scenes blend seductive charm and reckless energy, making him feel simultaneously magnetic and emotionally unmoored.
Together, they capture the thrill and violence of young love with unnerving precision.
⭐ Chemistry – 4.5 / 5
Few films capture teen queer chemistry as naturally as this. The connection between Alexis and David isn’t just about kisses and bodies—it’s about chaos, speed, and that desperate need to be seen. Their romance is layered with intensity: from playful motorcycle rides to brooding silences, from tender gazes to violent fights.
Their chemistry peaks in the club scene, where David places headphones over Alexis’ ears, letting him escape into a slower, more intimate soundscape. Surrounded by loud beats and flashing lights, they’re physically close—but emotionally out of sync. That moment alone captures everything: proximity without unity, love without symmetry.
⭐ Production – 4.0 / 5
Shot on 16mm film, Summer of 85 has a retro aesthetic that perfectly matches its 1980s Normandy setting. Ozon paints the summer in rich, nostalgic textures: golden beaches, neon-lit dance floors, and handwritten notebooks. The cinematography contrasts the bright innocence of the first half with the grief-tinged gloom of the second.
Music plays a huge role here. The Cure’s “In Between Days”, Rod Stewart’s “Sailing,” and a host of ’80s tracks shape the emotional temperature. Notably, Ozon even changed the film’s title from Summer of 84 to Summer of 85 to secure the music rights—a small but telling detail of how music defines this story’s emotional rhythm.
⭐ Ending – 3.5 / 5
The film’s final act is divisive. Alexis, deeply grieving, fulfills a pact by dancing on David’s grave—an absurd yet emotionally raw scene that straddles the line between tragedy and black comedy. It’s not a conventional ending, but that’s what makes it memorable.
Some viewers criticized Alexis for moving on too quickly. But a closer read reveals that he doesn’t move on at all—he becomes David. His choice to approach the drunk boy from earlier is symbolic, suggesting that grief doesn’t fade, it mutates. He’s not chasing a new love, but continuing the performance of a love he refuses to let die.
It’s messy, theatrical, and honest—just like adolescence itself.
Summer of 85 Information
Awards
🏆 Nominated: Best Film, Competition Section – 35th Tokyo International Film Festival
🏆 Nominated: Best Actor (Benjamin Voisin) – César Awards 2021
🏆 Official Selection – 2020 Cannes Film Festival (Canceled Edition)
Where to Watch
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