Summertime

Witty coming-of-age story about a lesbian teen falling in love over an idyllic summer in rural France.

Film Review by David McGinty | 29 Feb 2016
Film title: Summertime
Director: Catherine Corsini
Starring: Izïa Higelin, Cécile de France

The first half hour of this 70s-set coming-of-age story, of a country farm girl discovering herself in the Parisian lesbian and women’s rights movement, is witty and well-handled, but it feels familiar and reminiscent of period films like Matthew Warchus’s Pride.

The plot pivots when Delphine is forced to return home to take over her family farm, with new girlfriend Carole not far behind. The subject matter and the parallel between the haze of falling in love and one long idyllic season will draw comparisons to Pawel Pawlikowski’s My Summer of Love, but the romance is offset with Delphine’s fight for acceptance and her intent to keep her sexuality a secret from her family and fellow villagers.

The familiarity of Catherine Corsini’s intensely autobiographical tale reflects the sheer volume of stories and experiences of those who lived through this struggle for civil rights and were forced to choose between a closeted family life and the desire to affect real change. So strike that: not familiar, but universal.


Summertime screened at Glasgow Film Festival.

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