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One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

Posted By: Someonelse
SD / DVD IMDb
One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

One Deadly Summer(1983)
DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 16:9 | 02:13:08 | 7,27 Gb
Audio: Français AC3 2.0 @ 448 Kbps | Subtitles: English
Genre: Drama, Mystery

Director: Jean Becker
Writers: Sébastien Japrisot (based on the novel by), Sébastien Japrisot (adaptation)
Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon, Suzanne Flon

In this tragic tale of misunderstanding, obsession, and increasing madness, "she," a beautiful young woman (Isabelle Adjani) settles into a small town in the south of France with her introverted mother (Maria Machado) and physically handicapped father and soon becomes the subject of wild speculation because of her aloofness and at the same time, her obvious sexuality. The young woman is actually caught up in the desire to avenge the long-ago rape of her mother, a rape committed by three Italian immigrants, one of whom is associated with a player piano. An attractive car mechanic (Alain Souchon) is enamored of her, and the woman suddenly sees him in a different light when she learns that his father, now dead, was an Italian immigrant who owned a player piano. Intent on taking action against the mechanic's family to right the wrong suffered by her mother, the daughter begins to lose her grip on sanity when she finds out that the men she suspects of the rape are actually innocent. In fact, her father long ago exacted his own vengeance on the three rapists. This knowledge pushes her over the edge, and she has to be institutionalized. Meanwhile, the young mechanic misunderstands what has happened and sets in motion events that cannot but lead to tragedy. L'Été Meurtier garnered four different Cesars in the 1983 competition: "Best Actress" (Isabelle Adjani), "Best Supporting Actress" (Suzanne Flon), "Best Original Screenplay," and "Best Editing."


Widely celebrated in its native France, One Deadly Summer has not received the notice it is due in many other parts of the world. A tale of obsessive vengeance in which things are not always quite what they seem to be, and in which illusion often butts heads quite forcibly with reality, Summer is an absorbing, occasionally disturbing film that rewards audiences who give it their full attention. While Summer is at times a bit too manipulative, it's so engrossing that most viewers won't mind the manipulation. Jean Becker's direction is a winning combination of the typical "Hollywood" mystery style with the more restrained, vaguely unfocused French arthouse style. This causes a few stops-and-starts, but these "uncertainties" somehow seem appropriate for a film that explores a certain truth that may not be quite so true after all.

One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

Summer also boasts another stunning performance from Isabelle Adjani, one of her patented "mad" turns. She's tread some of this road before (and would again later), but she manages to find new, fascinating variations on madness, and captures the sexiness, determination, vulnerability and obsessiveness of the character perfectly. (She's also, for the record, frequently to be found in states of rather extreme undress.) Suzanne Flon is also in top form, but the surprising performance comes from singer Alain Souchon, who is just about perfect as the man with whom Adjani becomes involved.
Craig Butler, Rovi

One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

One Deadly Summer is an astonishing French drama whose best quality is quite simple- you don't know what will happen next. As soon as the plot appears to be sorting itself out, something else happens which changes what we are expecting .Also, the film itself changes several times.Initially it seems to be a love story with some strange elements.Then the film appears to be becoming one of those rape/revenge thrillers, such as Angel Of Vengeance, I Spit On Your Grave, than suddenly things change and it becomes more of a very dark family drama, culminating in an emotionally exhausting dialogue scene between the female protagonist and her father. Despite all this the film does not seem disjointed or muddled.

One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

At the film's core is an amazing performance by the brilliant Isabel Adjani, who like Monica Belucci manages something beyond the grasp of most American actresses, that of being incredibly sexy and being a superb actress. Her performance is truly heartfelt, sometimes extremely subtle, and sometimes truly barnstorming, but appropriately so. Director Jean Becker is not afraid to be innovative ,such as having different characters narrate bits of the film, and does a superb job of sequences like a flashback rape scene, which leaves the majority of that happens to the imagination yet still somehow gives some idea of the horror.

One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

There is the odd unexplained aspect ,and the film does seem to be building to action which does not really occur, although the cynical, downbeat ending is really entirely appropriate. Despite all this, there is quite a bit of humour in the film which does not detract at all from it's power. A Hollywood remake would cut out most of the first hour- yes, the pace is slow but the gradual building of tension and detail is nothing short of masterful- and add a happier or at least more 'resolved' ending.In that case,maybe it's a good thing this shattering film is not better known.
IMDB Reviewer

One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

One Deadly Summer is a subtle and impactful film, shot beautifully and masterfully directed by Jean Becker. The cast is superb. The story engaging. And Isabelle Adjani is decidedly easy on the eyes. Her energetic performance is worth attention on its own, but luckily there is much more on display here to enjoy. This is a film worth owning, and watching more than once. Highly recommended.
Excerpt from Jeremy Biltz's Review on DVDTalk

One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

So, One Deadly Summer finally comes to NTSC with a surprisingly strong, progressive, anamorphic (original 1.66) and dual-layered transfer. It has some grand moments - especially the outdoor scenes. Close-ups look great, I was impressed! …I think the release should be commended - it looks very strong for SD and the film itself has gained some stature - even beyond Adjani's gratuitous nudity. The thriller aspects kind of sneak up on you after all the sexuality. A curious and appealing film effort from Becker - certainly worthy of repetition.
Gary W. Tooze, DVDbeaver.com

One Deadly Summer (1983) L'été meurtrier

Special Features: None

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