Summer Things
Summer Things (French: Embrassez qui vous voudrez; Italian: Baciate chi vi pare) is a 2002 French-Italian-British romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Michel Blanc based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Joseph Connolly.
Summer Things | |
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![]() French release poster | |
Directed by | Michel Blanc |
Produced by | Yves Marmion |
Written by | Michel Blanc |
Based on | Summer Things by Joseph Connolly |
Starring | |
Music by | Mark Russell |
Cinematography | Sean Bobbitt |
Edited by | Maryline Monthieux |
Production company | Mercury Film Productions Dan Films Alia Film France 2 Cinéma |
Distributed by | UGC Fox Distribution (France) |
Release date |
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Running time | 103 minutes[1] |
Country | France United Kingdom Italy |
Language | French |
Budget | €11.4 million |
Box office | $11.5 million[2] |
The film was released to critical acclaim. Karin Viard won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Véronique.
Plot
Elizabeth and Bertrand are typical representatives of Parisian society. Behind the facade of a perfect marriage is dissatisfaction and boredom. He is a successful real estate agent having fun with much younger women or men behind the back of his wife. She suffers under the crushing uneventful life of a housewife and looks forward to a family holiday with daughter Emily. Bertrand backs out at the last minute and sends in his place Julie, Elizabeth's best friend and his former lover. He is free for a new love affair in Paris. The neighbors, Véro and Jérôme have very different problems. Jérôme is unemployed and collects gas meters. He hides his feelings of failure from Véro and son Loic. Since Véro wants to keep up with the neighbors, both families end up in the same resort. Numerous mistakes, misunderstandings and surprises are inevitable.
Cast
- Charlotte Rampling as Elizabeth Lannier
- Jacques Dutronc as Bertrand Lannier
- Carole Bouquet as Lulu
- Michel Blanc as Jean-Pierre
- Karin Viard as Véronique
- Denis Podalydès as Jérôme
- Clotilde Courau as Julie
- Vincent Elbaz as Maxime
- Lou Doillon as Emilie
- Mélanie Laurent as Carole
- Gaspard Ulliel as Loic
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100%, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.[3]
Accolades
Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
---|---|---|---|
César Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Denis Podalydès | Nominated |
Best Supporting Actress | Karin Viard | Won | |
Best Writing | Michel Blanc | Nominated | |
Most Promising Actor | Gaspard Ulliel | Nominated | |
Lumières Awards | Most Promising Actor | Gaspard Ulliel | Won |
References
- "EMBRASSEZ QUI VOUS VOUDREZ - SUMMER THINGS". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 17 December 2017
- http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=1765
- "Summer Things (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes.