User Reviews

More an Intelligent drama, with some violent overtones more than the "thriller" it's packaged as. This has more in common with "Rashomon" than with the latest slick action movie out of Hollywood.

Isabelle Adjani plays a young woman unhinged by the knowledge of her mother's brutal rape by 3 men years earlier, and she has built her life around seeking revenge. The film's most striking aspect is the use of multiple switching narrators, so we see the tale unfold from several points of view.

Adjani, as always, has a tremendous emotional rawness, but for me the performance (and the writing) wears its heart a little too much on it's sleeve. I wish she wasn't so clearly crazy much of the time. Or that more people seemed to notice just how blatantly manipulative her behavior is.

The pace is very slow, which worked a lot of the time, but I did find myself frustrated at moments.

But all that said, this is an interesting experiment in telling a complex story, with strong performances all around. And if it occasionally falls into melodrama, it also is full of moments that are disturbing, moving and shocking.

L'Ete Meurtrier is a compelling tale of vengeance which will surely appeal to all aficionados of thriller genre.Jean Becker embarked on a cinematic path wholly different in content as well as structure from the one taken by his legendary father Jacques Becker.There is a prevalent aspect of revenge running throughout all his films.L'Ete Meurtrier varies its tone and narrative style at regular intervals.It starts as an erotic drama and transforms itself into an agreeable account of retribution.Eliane takes cruel revenge when she learns that her birth was the fruit of her mother's brutal rape.Isabelle Adjani regretted having refused to do certain nude scenes in Luis Bunuel's renowned "Cet obscur objet du desir".This film gave her a chance to display all her erotic charms.She strips over and over again which boosted the film's Box Office success.L'Ete Meurtrier which won 4 Cesars in 1983 was fully dominated by Isabelle Adjani whose presence eclipsed all expectations.

Newcomer to the village, Eilane, (Isabelle Adjani), is certainly a stunner and soon she's driving all the boys wild but it's mechanic and fireman 'Pin-Pon', (Alain Souchon), who woos her and wins her even though on their first date he sees a side to her that would have most men fleeing to the hills. Eilane may indeed be gorgeous but she's also clearly psychotic or worse. Jean Becker's "One Deadly Summer" is just yet another in a long line of superb French thrillers in which bad things take place in bright sunlight and people seem to have an ulterior motive for everything while Adjani joins a long list of very fatal femmes. She's terrific as usual but then so is everyone else in a movie that sets out its stall early on and then proceeds to give to the cold creeps for the next two hours. If you wished you could call it Chabrolian but I think this is a darker film than even Chabrol might have given us. Well worth seeking out.

The source of this film is a book of Sebastien Japrisot - a thriller author and script-writer who also directed a a few films by himself. After having seen the film directed by Jean Becker in 1983 I start to wonder whether it would not have been better in this case if Japrisot brought to screen his own novel.

The whole film turns around Isabelle Adjani, By the time she made L'ete meurtrier Adjani was already at her 20th film or such and Truffault's 'L'Histoire d'Adele H'., or Polanski's 'Le locataire' were already behind her. Yet, she has in this film the freshness of a debutante and a sex-appeal that equals few films I have seen (Tornatore's 'Malena' with Monica Belucci comes to my mind). Adjani plays here the role of the victim and of the avenger, her beauty, changes of mood, suffering and mistakes make and destroy everything in the story and in the film itself.

Seen through the perspective of almost three decades the story of the young girl seeking revenge for the rape of her mother may seem conventional and melodramatic. It is however very much into the style and approach not only of the classic French cinema but also of the literature - the characters seem to descend to us from the world of an Emile Zola, with their predestination of giving up to passion and with the tendency of making fatal, destinies breaking mistakes for the seek of love.

If there is anything or anybody to blame for this film not really aging well despite Adjani's fabulous performance (seconded by Alan Souchon, an actor who seems to have all but disappeared after having made this film, and I have a hard time understanding why) I think it's the direction and the director. Similar material has created masterpieces if I am to think about films like 'La mariee etait en noir' - Jean Becker seems to have lacked the daring of taking a 'classical' story and using lesser conventional cinematographic means in order to make the story more credible. And yet, the film is worth seeing, even just for the pleasure of seeing Isabelle Adjani at her best.

I don't know how I've managed to not see this film till now, except I guess, for some reason it was only available for a short time. But it is a stunner, all bright, golden and light, at first, but rapidly the evidence of some dark undertow becomes evident. Alain Souchon seems a barely adequate pairing for Isabelle Adjani but it all gradually comes together. Adjani is skimpily dressed, partly undressed or completely nude for the entire picture and so hypnotises that we are distracted and unable to foresee what will be the doom laden, final denouement. I cannot think of another film where the leading lady looks so sensational from every angle and throughout an entire movie as Adjani does in this. Never a dull moment, as they say, and more than that, little is what it seems at first and those we think have a handle on things maybe don't. There is an intimate moment between Adjani's character and her mother that astonished and baffled me that does resonate as the film builds to its explosive ending.

Isabelle Adjani gives a brilliant, instinctive performance (and she also has several showstopping nude scenes, I might add) as an animalistic, untamed young sexpot who seeks vengeance on the three men that raped her mother 20 years ago. In the first few minutes, the film seems a bit confusing and pointless, but gradually reveals itself to be a multi-layered story with quite a few twists along the way. "One Deadly Summer" deserves more attention (but is difficult to find). (***)

French cinema yet once again proved its brilliance through this tiny masterpiece. The film was to be described in one word, it would be 'Unpredictable', you never know what will be the next thing or what will be the next intention of a character will be. 'One deadly summer' is a film about characters you may or may not be familiar with in real life but you certainly will believe them. Isabelle Adjani is very precise and shines with excellence in her role, she gives one of her very best performances here. Alain Sounchon delivers a remarkable performance, and the chemistry between these two are beyond words. The film oozes with mystery every moment, though having situations very believable and genuine and the characters development is so strong, so deep, that you will be forced to see every situation from their individual perspectives. A film to look out for. Simply one of those few fine European films you cannot afford to avoid, undoubtedly a 9.8 out of 10!

"L'été meutrier" is about a young woman using her sex appeal to take revenge on the men that have done harm to her mother long ago. The story, that is rather tense in the second half of the film, is partly told using flash backs. This means that the acts that the girl tries to revenge are only gradually revealed to the viewer.

Peculier in this film is the way it uses voice overs. The perspective of the voice over changes in the course of the film a couple of times. This means that the voice over reveals the thoughts and motives of different persons. In this film there is no such thing as one story teller.

The weak spot in this film is the first half. Using the pretext of telling the story of a girl that is confident to the outside but insecure and unstable in the inside, the film is keen on showing as much nude scenes as possible. In this respect there is a clear similarity with the "Cinema du look" directors in general and with "Betty Blue" (1986, Jean Jacques Beineix) in particular. The story of an insecure girl breaking down when her relationship gets difficult is much more honestly told in a film such as "La dentelliere" (1977, Claude Goretta).

L'Ete Meurtrier is a very complex, cleverly constructed film, well acted, written and directed. For me, one of the cleverest features is the fact that a number of characters take their turn at narration.

Although Adjani puts in a very good performance, in my opinion the best performance is by Suzanne Flon, who plays the pivotal role of Cognata.

The flashback scenes are not wholly convincing for me - they do not even begin to suggest that the action is taking place twenty years previously.

Perhaps my favourite scene, is the one where Eliane sits outside her father's locked door and cries "tu est mon pere!" - this scene is well acted by Adjani - the viewer can almost feel her anguish.

Overall, an excellent film which can be watched over and over again. In fact, one needs to watch it a few times to appreciate all the twists and turns in the plot.

Isabelle Adjani is good, and voluptuous as ever as Eliane, a recent arrival with her mother in a small rural village. She flirts about in her short skirt, and catches the eye of a man named Pin Pon. They are soon dating, and it isn't long before they are married. Pin Pon's mother takes a dislike to Eliane. Eliane asks a lot of questions, especially about an old piano that was delivered in 1955. The story gradually unfolds to show us flashbacks of that fateful day back then. Eliane is here for a purpose of revenge. The film gathers pace towards its shocking conclusion.

It seems incredible, but I only got to see this picture 26 years after its release. A surprising plot that, at first, seems just like any other we would have already seen on screen. Allthou later it reveals itself to be full of surprises. Isabelle Adjani is at her peak of beauty and talent.

One thing was always on my mind while watching her figure and style. It seems as if the director Jean Becker had based her image on one of Milo Manara's characters. Adjani's body lines and her face were a form of inspiration for one of these two artists.

An absolute "must see".

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.

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.

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.

This film's a pile of nonsense really. It sets up a fascinating little intrigue, but can't pay off on it.

The intrigue in question is all around Adjani's character, Elle, a new girl in a French village, flouncing around making a spectacle of herself in lurid, figure-hugging, sometimes see-through, outfits and subject to wild mood swings. Unlike a few other reviewers here, I love this part. It's funny, the sex bomb stuff like a cartoon absurdist satire of the trope, and Elle's lurching emotional shifts nicely evoking worst dates ever. In the latter respect, it's rather similar to After Hours, a favourite film of mine, made around the same time.

What does it all mean? Nothing, seriously, don't worry about it. No, alright, what it's about is the sex bomb veneer and the human vulnerability behind it. More generally, maybe it's the way we can use our strengths, eg being very sexy, against ourselves, to hide from our own weaknesses and traumas.

The veneer and its fissures are brilliantly depicted. The problem is showing what's behind that. In attempting to make good on its seemingly abundant promise, the film builds a ricketty tower of explanation that doesn't, when you think about it, really explain any of what was interesting about the start. In doing so, it becomes convoluted, implausible, overlong and incredibly boring.

"Eliane becomes the talk of the town for her sultry, uninhibited sensuality, and takes a fancy to Pin-Pon with an ulterior motive (the family piano left by Pin-Pon's father plays a key role in ascertaining the identities of those base sex offenders). But underneath her free-spirited, come-hither deportment, the weight of this unspeakable secret often prompts her into paroxysms of mood-swings (punctuated by past memories and harrowing experiences), which act like yellow flags to Pin-Pon of her mental instability. That said, no heterosexual men can possibly resist the allure of a primetime Adjani, soon Eliane moves into Pin-Pon's dwelling, with his widowed mother Madame Montecciari (Clève), his semi-deaf auntie Cognata (Flon, delectably sagacious and breezy) and his two younger brothers, Mickey (a 28-year-old Cluzet, then a fresh-faced dreamboat, acting with great facility) and Boubou (Gélin)."

read the full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

I won't try to describe the plot, others can do that better than I. I just want to encourage others to watch this amazing movie. In France, the movie received a great reception, but in the US it appears to have been largely ignored. I keep hoping this movie will be revived, but it has not found a champion yet. If you liked Manon of the Spring, you will love One Deadly Summer!

In spring 1976, a 19-year-old beauty, her German-born mother, and her crippled father move to the town of a firefighter nicknamed Pin-Pon. Everyone notices the provocative Eliane. She singles out Pin-Pon and soon is crying on his shoulder (she's myopic and hates her reputation as a dunce and as easy); she moves in with him, knits baby clothes, and plans their wedding. Is this love or some kind of plot? There is so much going on in this film. Initially, it appears to be from the perspective of Pin-Pon and his obsession with a woman who may be the town bicycle. But we only hear his thoughts some of the time. In other moments, we get Eliane's thoughts (as well as memories), and other people take certain scenes as the narrator, too. This only adds to the layer of mystery about what is all going on.

One thing that makes this film very French and not very American is the excessive nudity. Isabelle Adjani spends a fair amount of time in various stages of undress. This is never really necessary, but really says more about French attitudes than anything else. I do not feel like it was meant to be exploitative or sensational.

Thirty years later,this movie tries to capture the atmosphere of the great Clouzot,Duvivier and Decoin film noirs of the forties and fifties.But it's wishful thinking.Because no one is HG Clouzot except HG Clouzot and do not expect the return of "diabolique ".Besides,novelist Sebastien Japrisot is one of the worst suspense writer France has ever known,and he's no match for Boileau-Narcejac,Simenon or Frédéric Dard.Such horrors like Litvak's "la dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil" and Clement's "la course du lièvre à travers les champs" (check the pretentious titles!)suffice to demonstrate this.

With its "terrible past" flashbacks,its amateurish performances (Alain Souchon,a good singer but a poor actor),and Isabelle Adjani who tries to make up for the paucity of ideas by showing up completely naked(because of the heat of the Summer maybe),the movie can convince someone who has not seen a Hitchcock movie yet.But is there a thriller buff who hasn't?

The story is inept,complicated instead of complex. "L'été meutrier" was one of the greatest hits of the eighties French box-office ,but the critics were tepid.Quite rightly so.

Note:director Jean Becker is none other than Jacques Becker's ( casque d'or" "Goupi mains rouges" "le trou" and other great classics)son.Like father,like son,definitely not.

The premise is clear, and Isabelle Adjani's name carries substantial weight. To begin watching is another matter. The first half hour in particular careens sharply between far-flung moods, quite coming off with unbelievable melodramatic airs. The storytelling begins to solidify thereafter, and the dark heart of the picture reveals itself, but still some curiosities remain that place upper limits on the viewing experience. Part of it is the script - the dialogue and scene writing - surely suffering somewhat in adaptation even as Sébastien Japrisot writes from his own novel; part of it is Jean Becker's direction. One way or another there's an off-putting, brisk curtness to the film, not to mention forthrightness; a lot of scenes and dialogue are often achingly on the nose and exact, peculiarly bald-faced and unsubtle, or in some instances strangely ill-fitting. On top of this we're persistently treated to narration from different characters at different times, their inner thoughts, and in some cases these may interweave with dialogue between characters. The sequencing is also rather rough sometimes, adding to the challenge; there are times when the somber, ponderous strains of the score are injected into a scene in a manner all too precise and gawky. All this is to say that whatever else is true of 'L'Été meurtrier,' it struggles with significant heavy-handedness over its 130 minutes that at some points comes off with soap opera triteness, that dampens engagement to some degree, and that prevents the title from being the best it could have been. In many ways this needed a much more delicate hand, and a more mindful one.

All this is quite unfortunate, for apart from the club-footed approach, there is a great deal to admire here. In fairness, the issues I've described gradually diminish in their prominence as the runtime draws on, and the core substance grows more and more. As the tale comes to a head we see the nuance we wish had been more present all along, and the underhanded intelligence that has been shaping the entirety even through the rough patches. Yes, those rough patches are unfortunate in how they take away from the full value, because what we otherwise have is outstanding. The story Japrisot gives us is dark and ugly - more so than the feature even allows to completely come to bear - and stupendously absorbing and compelling at that. Even through the less convincing bits the dialogue is distinctly piercing; the scene writing is smart and sharp, if sometimes more in the broad strokes than in total realization. Though not always deployed in the most judicious manner, the original music of composer extraordinaire Georges Delerue pointedly lends to the grim tone; Jacques Witta's sequencing presents a problem in some cases, yet more than not I also don't think this could have worked were it given any other form. Brusqueness in the pacing and general execution of scenes is unquestionably concerning for much 'L'Été meurtrier,' and a more finessed approach would have allowed the same scenes to have landed with far more impact, but even so Becker's direction is overall fairly strong and proves it more over time.

In light of the matters above I think the cast are somewhat affected in turn, which makes it all the more impressive as and when they do shine nevertheless. In a smaller supporting part Suzanne Flon is a gift all the same, bringing "Cognata" to life with a kindly aloofness that's a welcome smidgen of counterbalance to the fierceness that the plot mostly represents. True at some points more than others, Alain Souchon demonstrates notable range as Florimond, or "Pin-Pon," inhabiting the beleaguered, lovesick man through a gamut of feelings that are thusly made all the more vivid. Not to count out anyone else involved, who all do so much themselves to help build the sordid tableau (it's notable that this marks one of the earliest screen appearances of Maïwenn), but I think it's safe to say that above all star Adjani is the primary beating heart of the movie. Why, save for perhaps the totality of Japrisot's narrative, I don't think it's unfair to say that Adjani is the chief draw of 'L'Été meurtrier'; it's not for nothing that she earned another César award for her turn as complex, troubled Eliane. Prevalent as Eliane is in the writing, Adjani's performance is afflicted most by the heavy-handedness of the production, but still she is a beacon of acting skill with precious few points of comparison - and just as the difficulties of the presentation subside over the runtime, so too is Adjani all the greater in turn. Whatever a part demands she is able to give wholly of herself to realize it, with formidable emotional depth, poise, physicality, sensuality, nuance, range, you name it. I still think her previous and first César-winning show, Andrzej ZuLawski's 'Possession,' remains her finest hour, yet for the places she goes as an actor with Eliane, there can be no doubt that she aptly illustrates once more why she is so singular a performer.

By all means, this is also superbly well done in other regards; the crew behind the scenes did a fabulous job. The production design and art direction are impeccable. The costume design, hair, and makeup are tremendously fetching, not least as Adjani is so much the focus of the camera. Any stunts or effects that are employed look swell, and any instances of violence are executed with realistic bite. Far more than not this is a terrific picture, and I would rather like to say that I like it more than I do. I still keep coming back to those issues that drag down the experience at the outset, however; had a little more care been applied from the start the movie would only have ascended to even greater heights. Be that as it may, that 'L'Été meurtrier' succeeds as much as it does speaks so well to the strength it boasts, and the capabilities of all involved. Isabelle Adjani and Sébastien Japrisot do the most to carry the film in my opinion, yet they're certainly not alone, and even for all the weaknesses or deficiencies these are two hours very well spent. Content warnings are very necessary for sexual assault, otherwise violence, and nudity, and I think it's just as true that potential viewers should be aware of how the title begins a tad meekly before slowly finding its footing. With all this having been said, I'm still happy to give 'L'Été meurtrier' my very high, hearty recommendation, for the excellence it can claim at its best handily outweighs the flaws it's saddled with at its worst. If you have the opportunity to watch, this is well worth seeking out.

I have been searching to find the name of this film for nearly 3 years now because I am dying to see it again! I have to say IMDB's search capabilites ROCKS! I would never have found this if it weren't for the character search. I just didn't understand why Eliane moved right in with Pin-Pon and his family (I thought she was looking for the men who "hurt" her mother) and when she found the piano in the barn, she became even more suspicious of his family, but WHY did she continue to stay with him??? So, I will watch it again and come back after I figure out what in the world I missed the first time. Thanks IMDB!

Am I talking about the summer? And the one right now and ahead of us (global warming) or the movie? So many puns (intended or not) - you be the judge of that. And there are judges and maybe executioners in the movie too. It does start off quite light ... there is the beauty of the town ... who seems not to care what others think of her. Girl(s) just wanna have fun - yes and no I'm not sorry! Especially if you don't know the song anyway. Might not even have been released when the movie came out.

But back to our beauty (and that is something one can say without any sexism factors or whatever). You may feel uncomfortable that she is naked a lot ... and I have to say Kudos to her. You do not only have to be secure enough about yourself, but quite brave in general to do so. And Isabelle Adjani seems to be.

No matter what you think of her and her seemingly naive character ... there is something deeper. Something rooted within her ... a dark past. Something that has to be uncovered ... and something that has to be resolved ... or does it have to be? And how do we know the real truth? And does it matter or is serving "justice" more important? Even if it isn't really ... justified? Entirely ... who are we to say ... you make up your own mind.