All language subtitles for Entretiens avec Francois Ozon et les Comediens

SUMMER OF 85

AN INTERVIEW WITH FRANQOIS OZON
AND THE ACTORS

After making "By the Grace of God,"
which was rather taxing,

especially during
our promotion tour,

I felt like doing something
a little bit lighter.

I came across a book
I'd read as a teenager

called "Dance on My Grave."

I read it again and thought

that was exactly what I needed:
a summer movie,

something radiant
about teenagehood.

It took me back
to my first experiences-- kissing,

discovering other bodies,
the first feelings of desire.

We had eight weeks
of summer vacation--

July and August--
before going back to school.

S0 we had eight weeks to fully experience
our first love stories.

What I wanted to show
is that it's a film about love,

about the ideas we have about love
and the confrontation

between a rather
idealistic vision of love

and one that's more clear-sighted,
more realistic,

and even more cynical.

The shock between
those two visions of love

gave the story its strength.

The central themes of the film

are highly contemporary.
It's about fascination,

and that love story
is truly universal.

It could definitely
happen in the present day.

The love that two people feel
is what matters.

If it's between two women
or two men, or not,

it doesn't make a difference

and our generation understands that.

- Completely.
- We understand and want to believe.

Past generations
don't really understand

or they have a problem with it.

S0 I think that setting the film
in the '80s is... awesome!

- It brings everyone together.
- Absolutely. It's strong.

What I liked about the story
is that it's built like a puzzle.

There are several levels of reality,

several time lines, so it was interesting
to put it all together.

That structure seemed interesting

because it created
some kind of suspense.

The viewers had to ask
themselves questions

and imagined things
that could be positive

and sometimes more tragic.

We have to talk
about what you did.

I don't want to.

I'm not here to judge you
but to try and understand.

The judge needs to know
why you acted that way

and I have to give them my opinion.

N0.
It's none of your business.

I had been warned about Frangois,
and I think you were, too.

He does two or three takes, tops.
S0 you have to be reactive.

S0 I was ready,

he was ready, because we had
done a great deal of work beforehand.

We had to. You can't show up on set
not knowing anything.

It took some time
for the chemistry

to really happen.

They became close right away,

but I had to work with them,

to read with them,
so we could believe

what was happening
between them.

The chemistry had to be there

because the whole film
is entirely based on that.

- S0 it's--
- Beautiful.

- And this will hide your ugly face.
- Asshole.

We have to render unto Caesar
the things which are Caesar's:

Frangois has
the eye for those things.

We're simply bare-chested on the beach,
saying our lines

but he's the one waiting
for the right colors,

the right light, the best time
for me to undress,

the perfect shot
when he looks at me

and the perfect shot
when I look at him looking at me.

Are you a good swimmer?

I think so.

I ask because Alex is
the king of shipwrecks.

The stress we initially feel,
working with such a great director,

quickly disappears
thanks to the closeness

he creates on set.

He's been working
with the same people,

the same heads of department,
for 20 years,

because he's loyal
and because he enjoys it.

That in itself made us feel
like family.

With Pascaline Chavanne,
who does costume design,

and Benoit Barouh for production design,
we tried to be as realistic as possible

while giving the film its own style.

When you go back in time
for a film,

it is important to try
and find "totems,"

things from that time
that take you back,

that bring back memories.

Things that represent that era.

For costume design,

we remembered that we used
to all wear denim:

we had a denim jacket,

a pair of jeans
and a bandana around the neck.

We tried to bring in
those little details.

It's not 100% realistic,

we simply looked
for the right style for that time.

The initial title was "Summer of 84."
I thought it was sexier,

and it was a homage to Robert Mulligan's
film "Summer of '42."

What happened is
that I used the song

"ln Between Days", by The Cure,
which I absolutely love,

and when the producers were supposed
to buy the rights for the song,

Robert Smith,
the singer of the band,

replied, "I wish I could sell you
the rights to the song,

but it came out in July of '85 and
your film's called 'Summer of 84'."

S0 I wrote a personal letter
to Robert Smith,

telling him that song was
so important to me,

I was ready to change the title

and call the film "Summer of 85."

He accepted and here it is:
"Summer of 85,"

because I couldn't imagine
using another song.

What's important
when you make a summer movie

is to show bodies,
sensuality.

So what I particularly liked here
was going back to film.

We shoot in digital now

and to go back to film reminds us
of the sensuality of it.

Bodies and skin look different.

The grain, the image look different
and I tried to show

some sort of idealization of the '80s.

After what we've been through,

with the Covid and the lockdown,

it's a little bit
like regaining Paradise lost.

We could do things back then
that we can't do now.

I wanted to look at him,
to touch him

and I wanted him to touch me.

I wanted to be with him
all the time,

for three million, six hundred and twenty
eight thousand, eight hundred seconds.

I was delighted to work
with these two actresses:

with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, with whom I'd
already worked, and with Isabelle Nanty.

Their characters as mothers
are very important in the story.

They are playing important parts.

They have very different relations
with their respective sons,

but they're both very maternal,
and maybe a little toxic.

Valeria was perfect to play
the possessive, extraverted Jewish mother,

while Isabelle Nanty played
the working-class morn

who is way more reserved
and a little depressed.

Those two characters completed each
other and even mirrored each other.

When I first saw Valeria
during rehearsals, I thought,

"That explains my character,

that's why things went awry
at some point."

Valéria is like a beautiful storm

you have to fall into and follow.

We loved working with her.

Yes, you get carried out to sea
and you surrender.

- If you fight it, you die.
- You die.

Or you just follow
and accept.

You follow and realize
it's like dancing.

Look at him, poor thing,
he'll catch his death.

Let's go take a bath.

- All you need is a warm bath.
- Let's go.

David's friends get a bath
when their boat capsizes.

You'd think they do it on purpose.
Come on!

Maybe they like my bathroom.

Alex comes
from a working-class family

and David is part
of the upper middle class of Tréport

who own businesses.

There is an underlying class conflict

in the story

and on top of that,
David went through real tragedies.

Alex has a naive,

innocent vision of life.

David had several
sexual relationships

and he's experienced death,
with his father's passing.

Their confrontation

is nourished by their differences.

Before meeting David,
he stayed in his room,

reading books.

He's quite an introvert

until David comes along
and helps him open up.

It happens throughout the film.

I like a lot of stuff.

- Right.
- See, I like this, for example,

- but things don't look good on me.
- I know what would.

For sure?
Are you kidding me?

- I'd get even more excited.
- You perv!

Get it away from me!

Let's go take care of you.

David is a character
who devours life.

He's like the characters

in the movies of the '60s,

like James Dean,
who likes speed,

who does good things
and who does bad things.

He's like a Cocteau character,
a fallen angel.

He's a character

who moves through the film

with sensuality
but also dangerously.

That's what the other characters
love about him,

whether it be
the English girl or Alex.

He's like a meteorite
passing through town.

I said, "I don't get it, Frangois,
I don't know what you want"

and he sent a message back saying,
"Just be a scorpion."

S0 I thought a lot about it
and I finally understood:

a scorpion can be fascinating,
you can watch it for hours

while forgetting
it's got a venomous tail.

S0 the character is like that.

I had to be absolutely fascinating,

I had to be magnetic
from the moment you met me.

- We've know each other just a few hours.
- Why waste time?

We won't live forever.

Sure. I need time
to get used to things.

Okay, I'll shut up.

I loved telling the story
from Alex's point of you,

with his naivety,
his innocence,

and the way he idealizes others.

He dreams of having a friend,

he talks about him,
then once he's met him,

he realizes the friend
of his dreams

might not be what he expected.

It is that disillusion
which makes the story so powerful.

The film revolves
around this question:

do we create the people we love

or do we see them
for what they are?

When we love someone,

their flaws become beautiful to us.

It's interesting to capture
that violent confrontation

every teenager experiences
when facing reality,

whether it be
in "Young and Beautiful"

or even in "ln the House."

Those characters

have to face the world's cruelty.

How do they survive it?

How do they manage
to go beyond that?