Rent Summer Hours (2008)
3.4 of 5 from 140 ratings
1h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The divergent paths of three adult siblings collide when their mother, heiress to her uncle's exceptional 19th century art collection, dies suddenly. Left to come to terms with themselves and their differences, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) a successful New York designer, Frederic (Charles Berling) an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jeremie (Jeremie Renier) a dynamic businessman in China, confront the end of childhood, their shared memories, background and unique visions of the future.
- Actors:
- Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jérémie Renier, Edith Scob, Dominique Reymond, Valérie Bonneton, Isabelle Sadoyan, Kyle Eastwood, Alice de Lencquesaing, Emile Berling, Jean-Baptiste Malartre, Gilles Arbona, Eric Elmosnino, Marc Voinchet, Sara Martins, Christian Lucas, Philippe Paimblanc, Luc Bricault, Arnaud Azoulay, Marine Decroix
- Directors:
- Olivier Assayas
- Writers:
- Olivier Assayas
- Aka:
- L'Heure d'été
- Studio:
- Artificial Eye Film Company Ltd.
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Galleries and Museums in Film: Part 1, A Brief History of Film...
- Countries:
- France
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Not released
- Run Time:
- 100 minutes
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Reviews (2) of Summer Hours
A perfect piece of film-making - Summer Hours review by GPH
This is a remarkably skilled and satisfying piece of film-making. The situation is an ordinary one. A mother dies, seemingly anxious about how her three very different grown-up children are going to handle their inheritance. They have not thought about this until they have to. The film is about how they do so. The circumstance is presented in absorbing detail, the characters, provided with a first-class screenplay, are subtly drawn, brilliantly directed, and quite flawlessly acted, their relations with themselves and each other (and importantly, their children) are consistently compelling, and the outcome, though it keeps one guessing to the very end, is, when it happens, utterly persuasive. There is no gratuitous drama, no violence, no overt sex, no sentimentality, nothing in any way cheap or meretricious. The pace is perfect and whole is also just very good to look at. And it is very much a film: one can't imagine this being done in any other medium. Assayas's touch, in short, is flawlessly sure. Quite brilliant. And in the course of it all, we learn a lot about some fascinating French institutions, especially the Musee d'Orsay, and about a range of reactions to France's past and present. It surely merits ten stars out of five.
1 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Bring on the winter - Summer Hours review by CP Customer
L'Heure d'été as its known in French, is a typical family drama that only the French seem to persist with. Compared to another recent rental, The Secret Of The Grain, this is a substandard entry. Very disappointing execution from Assayas and a storyline that never really delivers any emotion or drama. Even the normally marvellous Juliette Binoche cannot save Summer Hours.
0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.