Screened as part of NZIFF 2023

Last Summer 2023

L'été dernier

Directed by Catherine Breillat

A dangerous romance ensues between a successful lawyer and her teenage stepson as Catherine Breillat returns for the first time in a decade having lost none of her propensity to transgress.

France In French with English subtitles
104 minutes Colour / DCP

Producer

Saïd Ben Saïd

Screenplay

Catherine Breillat
,
Pascal Bonitzer. Based on the film Queen of Hearts by Maren Louise Kaëhne
,
May El-Touhky

Cinematography

Jeanne Lapoirie

Editor

François Quiqueré

Production Designer

Sébastien Danos

Costume Designer

Khadija Zeggaï

Music

Kim Gordon

Cast

Léa Drucker
,
Samuel Kircher
,
Olivier Rabourdin
,
Clotilde Courau
,
Serena Hu
,
Angela Chen

Festivals

Cannes (In Competition) 2023

Elsewhere

“It began in the son’s room, when the father was away on business. L’enfant thought it was l’amour, but for her, 30-odd years his senior, the sex, lies and audiotape were a mistake. Wild at heart, she’d yielded to the taste of… oh, never mind. Competing for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Catherine Breillat’s Last Summer echoes films that have come before—most notably, 2019 Danish drama Queen of Hearts, on which it’s based—but it proves most daring in the ways the film departs from its more conventionally moralistic source, and especially in Breillat’s refusal to call either party a parasite.

Yes, the affair between a lawyer and her 17-year-old stepson is a betrayal—of her marriage, of her parental responsibilities, of everything she stands for as an attorney—but that’s nothing compared with how the 50-ish woman deals with it when word gets out in this thought-provoking domestic drama. In reviewing the original, Variety’s Guy Lodge wrote, 'You can practically envisage a Robin Wright-starring U.S. remake'—which isn’t far from the truth. Backed by fearless producer Saïd Ben Saïd (Elle), Breillat gives us the great Léa Drucker (who played far more responsible moms in Close [NZIFF 2022] and Custody [NZIFF 2017]) in the role of Anne, who’s introduced representing an underage girl in a sex-crimes case.

The differences between Last Summer and its source material serve to reveal Breillat’s fascinations as a filmmaker, especially in the latter scenes, when Anne’s fellow adults consciously decide what they’re willing to accept. In keeping with the controversial director’s earlier work, the answer may well be: a lot more than most audiences.” Peter Debruge, Variety