Film

Summer of 85

Name: Summer of 85
Genre: Romance, Drama
Released: 2020
Cast: Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, Philippine Velge, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud

Coming-of-age

A haunting coming-of-age film set in 1980s Normandy, where two teenage boys form an intense, transformative friendship during one fateful summer. Shot with luminous tenderness and threaded with quiet tragedy, it captures the intoxication and recklessness of adolescence—where friendship feels like the most dangerous and necessary thing in the world.

TMDb rating

3.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like coming-of-age stories that lean into sun-bleached melancholy and the giddy, slightly reckless intensity of a first real infatuation, told with a stylish, playful hand.

Skip it if you need a plot that moves briskly, since this drifts through long summer afternoons and its teenage languor can feel slow if you want momentum.

What it asks of you: Just over a hundred minutes of patient attention, its emotions arriving through quiet glances and sun-drenched lulls rather than big set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Call Me by Your Name2017

A similarly sun-drenched meditation on desire and connection between young men, unfolding across a perfect summer with mounting emotional weight. Achingly beautiful and devastatingly sincere.

But The pacing is deliberately languid, and it requires patience with quietness and subtext rather than dramatic peaks.

My Own Private Idaho1991

Gus Van Sant's portrait of two young men adrift, searching for connection and meaning through the chaos of youth. Poetic, raw, and unflinching about desire, loyalty, and self-destruction.

But Aggressively experimental in structure and tone; won't feel like a conventional narrative, and deals with rough street life rather than summer idyll.

Moonlight2016

Three chapters of a young Black man's life, each showing transformation and the search for intimacy. Visually stunning, emotionally precise, and generous in its understanding of human fragility.

But Sparse dialogue and long silences demand active engagement; won't spell out feelings or explain every choice.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Summer of 85

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Mysterious Skin2005

Both films understand adolescence as a crucible where connection becomes necessary for survival, and both use summer/specific periods to frame transformation shaped by forces beyond the boys' control.

A devastating film about two boys processing trauma and searching for connection, tracking their lives across years. Utterly unflinching about damage, desire, and the need for witness. Gregory Peck performance is extraordinary.

But Contains explicit sexual content and addresses childhood abuse directly—not remotely safe viewing. Gregg Araki's film is uncompromising in its refusal to soften anything.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019

A period piece about two women discovering connection during a shared creative project, shot with exquisite attention to light, touch, and unspoken longing. Achingly tender and alive.

But Very slow-burn; entirely dependent on your willingness to sit with atmosphere and small gestures over plot momentum.

First Reformed2018

Paul Schrader's austere meditation on faith, purpose, and the weight of living, anchored by Ethan Hawke's blistering performance. Demands something of the viewer and gives something real back.

But Bleak and deliberately uncomfortable, with no reassurance offered. The pacing is deliberately punishing.

Nights in Rodanthe2008

A quieter romance that understands how connection between two people can shift everything, set against storm and coastal beauty. Earnest and deeply felt.

But Treads dangerously close to mainstream romance territory; may feel sentimental or formulaic depending on your tolerance for the genre.

You Hurt My Feelings2023

A sharp, tender comedy about the ways we hurt those closest to us, balancing humor with genuine emotional reckoning. Surprising in both its wit and its vulnerability.

But Contemporary setting and indie-comedy tone are a world away from Summer of 85's elegiac period mood.

The Year My Voice Broke1987

Australian film set in the 1960s about adolescent friendship and awakening desire, shot with a similar wistfulness. Captures the ache of growing up and the intensity of teenage bonds.

But Quietly paced and very much of its era in style; some may find it slow or dated in sensibility.

TÁR2022

Both are intensely focused psychological portraits of people in thrall to another person, with visual beauty masking or complicating darker truths underneath.

A three-hour German-language character study of a maestro consumed by obsession and power, shot in meticulous wide-frame compositions. Dense, hypnotic, and morally intricate in ways that demand complete attention.

But Feature length and intellectual difficulty; almost no plot to follow, and the entire film rests on studying minute shifts in one person's behavior and psychology.

The Road2009

Both films are about how profound love or connection becomes the only thing that makes continued living possible, even when—or especially when—the world offers no other reason to continue.

Cormac McCarthy's apocalyptic novel adapted into a film about a father and son moving through ash-covered wasteland, bound by love and duty. Visually stunning and existentially serious—how do we remain human when everything is gone?

But Relentlessly bleak and without humor or hope. The film is long, slow, and asks you to sit with despair as the price of human connection.