# Summer of 85
**Summer of 85** (French: *Été 85*) is a 2020 French-Belgian romantic drama directed and written by [François Ozon](https://www.edgepedia.org/francois-ozon), adapted from Aidan Chambers' 1982 young-adult novel *Dance on My Grave*. Set on the Normandy coast in the summer of 1985, it follows 16-year-old Alexis, who is rescued from a capsizing boat by 18-year-old David, and the love affair between them that ends in death and a police investigation.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/ete-85/) • [2](https://www.francetvpro.fr/contenu-de-presse/33724820)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | François Ozon, his 19th feature film[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/ete-85/) • [3](https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle%3D18691499.html) |
| Source | Free adaptation of Aidan Chambers' novel *Dance on My Grave* (1982), which Ozon read at age 17 in 1985[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-274837/secrets-tournage/) |
| Cast | Félix Lefebvre (Alexis), Benjamin Voisin (David), Philippine Velge (Kate), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud, Isabelle Nanty[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/ete-85/) |
| Production | Mandarin Production and Scope Pictures; producers Éric and Nicolas Altmayer; cinematography Hichame Alaouie; music Jean-Benoît Dunckel[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/ete-85/) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/3d169683-37e9-563f-a127-337def3fea9d/ete-85) |
| Format | Shot on Super 16 film; bears the Cannes 2020 label and competed at the San Sebastian Film Festival[6](https://catalogues.iksv.org/film_katalog_2020_low_res.pdf) |
| Release | France 14 July 2020; United Kingdom 2 October 2020; United States limited release 18 June 2021 (Music Box Films)[7](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/francois-ozon-et-son-ete-85-j-ai-fait-ce-film-pour-l-ado-que-j-ai-ete-11-07-2020-8351313.php) • [8](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/summer-of-85-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otk1nzk) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_85) |
| Reception | 82% Tomatometer from 103 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; US gross $70.7K[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_85) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens with its own outcome. Alexis sits in a police station and recounts, in flashback, what happened to David, so the story is told as a memory under investigation.[10](https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/film/summer-of-85/sydney) In the summer he turns 16, during a sea trip off the coast of Normandy, Alexis is heroically saved from a capsizing boat by David. The two become fast friends, and Alexis begins working for David's mother; friendship turns into a first love affair.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/ete-85/) • [11](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/summer-of-85/)
At David's suggestion the two make a pact: whichever of them dies first, the survivor will dance on his grave. David's death in an accident abruptly ends the relationship, and the promise drives the grieving Alexis to a final act for which he risks detention in a youth custody center.[12](https://klockworx.com/movies/summer/) • [13](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2020/07/14/la-nuit-venue-le-sel-des-larmes-ete-85-les-films-de-la-semaine_6046187_3476.html) The film keeps the exact nature of the promise in reserve until a late revelation.[13](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2020/07/14/la-nuit-venue-le-sel-des-larmes-ete-85-les-films-de-la-semaine_6046187_3476.html)
## Origins and adaptation
Ozon read *La Danse du coucou*, the French translation of Chambers' novel, in 1985, when he was 17, and said the book spoke intimately to the adolescent he was. He recalled deciding, while still making short films, that if he ever directed a feature it would be an adaptation of this novel; the film took about 35 years to reach the screen.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-274837/secrets-tournage/) • [7](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/francois-ozon-et-son-ete-85-j-ai-fait-ce-film-pour-l-ado-que-j-ai-ete-11-07-2020-8351313.php) In adapting it he moved the story's background to France and transposed it to the period when he first read the book.[14](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Summer-of-85-Press-Kit-FINAL-sm.pdf)
Ozon said he wanted to show a different kind of love story at a time when representations of homosexual stories were, in his view, extremely negative, marked by pain and guilt.[15](https://www.europe1.fr/culture/lhistoire-solaire-derriere-ete-85-le-nouveau-film-de-francois-ozon-3980764) After *[By the Grace of God](https://www.edgepedia.org/by-the-grace-of-god)* (2019), an investigative drama, he re-read the novel and realized many of its themes had already run through his earlier films, including cross-dressing in *A Summer Dress* and *The New Girlfriend*, the morgue scene in *Under the Sand*, and the cemetery in *Frantz*.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-274837/secrets-tournage/)
## Production and style
The film was shot on Super 16 film, like Ozon's earlier shorts, with cinematography by Hichame Alaouie and a score by Jean-Benoît Dunckel of Air.[6](https://catalogues.iksv.org/film_katalog_2020_low_res.pdf) • [1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/ete-85/) Reviewers describe a saturated, nostalgic 1980s look, with period-appropriate music: the film opens with [The Cure](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cure)'s "In Between Days", released in the summer of 1985, and the soundtrack also features [Bananarama](https://www.edgepedia.org/bananarama) and [Rod Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/rod-stewart).[7](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/francois-ozon-et-son-ete-85-j-ai-fait-ce-film-pour-l-ado-que-j-ai-ete-11-07-2020-8351313.php) • [10](https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/film/summer-of-85/sydney)
The film deliberately uses the codes of the teen movie while carrying a darker undercurrent of death, fear, and unreliable narration; critics noted that it becomes hard to tell whether Ozon means the story to be taken at face value or as Alexis's own melodramatic retelling.[13](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2020/07/14/la-nuit-venue-le-sel-des-larmes-ete-85-les-films-de-la-semaine_6046187_3476.html) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_85)
## Release and reception
The film was selected for the official competition of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and instead carried the Cannes 2020 label.[15](https://www.europe1.fr/culture/lhistoire-solaire-derriere-ete-85-le-nouveau-film-de-francois-ozon-3980764) • [6](https://catalogues.iksv.org/film_katalog_2020_low_res.pdf) It opened in French theaters on 14 July 2020 and was, according to [France Télévisions](https://www.edgepedia.org/france-televisions), a box-office success on release.[7](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/francois-ozon-et-son-ete-85-j-ai-fait-ce-film-pour-l-ado-que-j-ai-ete-11-07-2020-8351313.php) • [2](https://www.francetvpro.fr/contenu-de-presse/33724820) In Spain it earned 88,213.71 euros from 15,291 admissions after a 29 September 2020 release.[16](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/en-us/Peliculas/Detalle?pelicula=146720&q=true) In the United States, Music Box Films gave it a limited theatrical release on 18 June 2021, grossing $70.7K, before streaming on Prime Video from 17 August 2021.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_85)
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 82% Tomatometer from 103 reviews and an 81% audience score; the critics consensus calls it a beguiling, bittersweet ode to teen love while noting it is not Ozon's best work.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_85) The British Board of Film Classification rated it for suicide references, brief bloody images, and sexualised nudity; Australia classified it MA 15+ for strong themes.[8](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/summer-of-85-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otk1nzk) • [17](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/ete-85)
## References
1. [Été 85 (Summer of 85), Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/ete-85/)
2. [Été 85 press kit, France TV Pro](https://www.francetvpro.fr/contenu-de-presse/33724820)
3. [Été 85 raconté par François Ozon, Benjamin Voisin et Félix Lefebvre, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle%3D18691499.html)
4. [Anecdotes du film Eté 85, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-274837/secrets-tournage/)
5. [Été 85 (2020), British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/3d169683-37e9-563f-a127-337def3fea9d/ete-85)
6. [İKSV 2020 film catalogue entry for Summer of 85](https://catalogues.iksv.org/film_katalog_2020_low_res.pdf)
7. [François Ozon et son «Eté 85», Le Parisien, 11 July 2020](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/francois-ozon-et-son-ete-85-j-ai-fait-ce-film-pour-l-ado-que-j-ai-ete-11-07-2020-8351313.php)
8. [Summer Of 85, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/summer-of-85-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otk1nzk)
9. [Summer of 85, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_85)
10. [Summer of 85, Alliance Française French Film Festival](https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/film/summer-of-85/sydney)
11. [Summer of 85, Film at Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/summer-of-85/)
12. [Summer of 85, The Klockworx (Japanese release page)](https://klockworx.com/movies/summer/)
13. [«Eté 85»: une histoire d'amour lumineuse et tragique, Le Monde, 14 July 2020](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2020/07/14/la-nuit-venue-le-sel-des-larmes-ete-85-les-films-de-la-semaine_6046187_3476.html)
14. [Director's statement, Summer of 85 press kit, Music Box Films](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Summer-of-85-Press-Kit-FINAL-sm.pdf)
15. [L'histoire "solaire" derrière "Été 85", Europe 1, 13 July 2020](https://www.europe1.fr/culture/lhistoire-solaire-derriere-ete-85-le-nouveau-film-de-francois-ozon-3980764)
16. [Verano del 85, ICAA Film Database (Spain)](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/en-us/Peliculas/Detalle?pelicula=146720&q=true)
17. [Été 85, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/ete-85)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Coming-of-age films › Coming-of-age films released 2010 onward*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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