Catherine Breillat‘s latest feature “Last Summer” finds the twisted July within the May-December romance trope.
Writer/director Breillat returns to filmmaking after more than a decade with an unhinged love triangle between a teen boy (Samuel Kircher), his step-mother (Léa Drucker), and estranged father (Olivier Rabourdin).
Breillat penned the script in collaboration with Pascal Bonitzer; “Last Summer” is based on the film “Queen of Hearts” written by Maren Louise Kaëhne and May El-Toukhy. The feature debuted at Cannes 2023 and went on to screen at TIFF and NYFF. It’s now distributed by Sideshow and Janus Films.
The official synopsis reads: “Anne (Drucker) is an attorney who has plateaued in her marriage to Pierre (Rabourdin), a distracted businessman. His son, troubled seventeen-year-old, Theo (Kircher), from a previous marriage, has recently returned to Pierre’s ineffectual and despondent care. When Pierre leaves town for a business trip, Anne and Théo — confined under the same roof for the first time — find themselves in the throes of an unexpected and dangerously lustful affair, threatening the stability of the household.”
Kim Gordon is behind the music for the film, which questionably goes silent in the more risqué moments, with sex scenes between Drucker and Kircher scored only with the squeaks of their bodies on top of one another.
“Last Summer” debuts stateside to coincide with the Film at Lincoln Center’s retrospective of Breillat’s complete filmography. Aptly titled “Carnal Knowledge: The Films of Catherine Breillat,” the program runs from June 21 through 27. New 4k restorations of “Nocturnal Uproar,” “A Real Young Girl,” and “36 Fillett” are among the highlights, as well as “Fat Girl” and “Anatomy of Hell” screenings. Breillat’s iterations of fables “Bluebeard” and “The Sleeping Beauty” will additionally screen, leading up to her most recent film “Abuse of Weakness” from 2013 before a sneak preview of “Last Summer” on June 26, followed by a Q&A with the auteur ahead of the film’s theatrical release two days later.
“Last Summer” premieres June 28 at the Angelika and Film at Lincoln Center in New York City and the Laemmle Nuart in Los Angeles. Check out the trailer below.
