gavin6942 In spring 1976, a 19-year-old beauty, her German-born mother, and her crippled father move to the town of a firefighter nicknamed Pin-Pon. Everyone notices the provocative Eliane. She singles out Pin-Pon and soon is crying on his shoulder (she's myopic and hates her reputation as a dunce and as easy); she moves in with him, knits baby clothes, and plans their wedding. Is this love or some kind of plot? There is so much going on in this film. Initially, it appears to be from the perspective of Pin-Pon and his obsession with a woman who may be the town bicycle. But we only hear his thoughts some of the time. In other moments, we get Eliane's thoughts (as well as memories), and other people take certain scenes as the narrator, too. This only adds to the layer of mystery about what is all going on.One thing that makes this film very French and not very American is the excessive nudity. Isabelle Adjani spends a fair amount of time in various stages of undress. This is never really necessary, but really says more about French attitudes than anything else. I do not feel like it was meant to be exploitative or sensational.

Sindre Kaspersen French actor, screenwriter and director Jean Becker's fifth feature film is an adaptation of a novel from 1977 by French director, screenwriter and author Sébastien Raprisot (1931-2003) who wrote the screenplay for the film. It premiered In competition at the 36th Cannes International Film Festival in 1983, was shot on various locations in France and is a French production which was produced by producer Christine Beytout. It tells the story about a flirtatious and ambiguous nineteen-year-old woman named Eliane Wieck who one hot summer returns to her hometown in provincial France with her German mother and handicapped father. Eliane's provocative behaviour makes everyone in town notice her and causes suspiciousness amongst the inhabitants, but one day she is approached by a nice local car mechanic named Fiorimonti who immediately falls in love with her, and a relationship begins to evolve.Finely and engagingly directed by French filmmaker Jean Becker, this finely tuned fictional tale which is narrated by Alain Souchon and mostly from his and the female protagonist's viewpoints, draws an intriguing and multifaceted portrayal of a traumatized and truth-seeking young woman who puts on a facade, acting like a poorly raised child, in order to find the truth about her past. While notable for it's warm and bright countryside milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by cinematographer Etienne Becker, production design by production designer Jean-Claude Gallouin and costume design by costume designer Therese Ripaud, this character-driven story about family relations, vengeance and love, depicts a dark study of character and contains a cryptic and efficient score by French composer Georges Delerue. This thoroughly written thriller and plot-twisting psychological drama from the early 1980s where a French stranger makes her presence known, is impelled and reinforced by it's engaging literary narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity, strong contrasts, impending atmosphere, French actress Isabelle Adjani's prominent acting performance as a bewitching femme fatale in a very complicated role and the fine acting performances by French actor Alain Souchon and French actress Suzanne Flon (1918-2005). An unsettling and diversely romantic mystery which gained the award for Best Actress Isabelle Adjani, Best Supporting actress Suzanne Flon, Best Editing and Best Writing - Adaptation at the 9th César Awards in 1984 and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 36th Cannes Film Festival in 1983.

texaustin L'Ete Meurtrier is a very complex, cleverly constructed film, well acted, written and directed. For me, one of the cleverest features is the fact that a number of characters take their turn at narration.Although Adjani puts in a very good performance, in my opinion the best performance is by Suzanne Flon, who plays the pivotal role of Cognata.The flashback scenes are not wholly convincing for me - they do not even begin to suggest that the action is taking place twenty years previously. Perhaps my favourite scene, is the one where Eliane sits outside her father's locked door and cries "tu est mon pere!" - this scene is well acted by Adjani - the viewer can almost feel her anguish.Overall, an excellent film which can be watched over and over again. In fact, one needs to watch it a few times to appreciate all the twists and turns in the plot.

dbdumonteil Thirty years later,this movie tries to capture the atmosphere of the great Clouzot,Duvivier and Decoin film noirs of the forties and fifties.But it's wishful thinking.Because no one is HG Clouzot except HG Clouzot and do not expect the return of "diabolique ".Besides,novelist Sebastien Japrisot is one of the worst suspense writer France has ever known,and he's no match for Boileau-Narcejac,Simenon or Frédéric Dard.Such horrors like Litvak's "la dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil" and Clement's "la course du lièvre à travers les champs" (check the pretentious titles!)suffice to demonstrate this.With its "terrible past" flashbacks,its amateurish performances (Alain Souchon,a good singer but a poor actor),and Isabelle Adjani who tries to make up for the paucity of ideas by showing up completely naked(because of the heat of the Summer maybe),the movie can convince someone who has not seen a Hitchcock movie yet.But is there a thriller buff who hasn't? The story is inept,complicated instead of complex. "L'été meutrier" was one of the greatest hits of the eighties French box-office ,but the critics were tepid.Quite rightly so.Note:director Jean Becker is none other than Jacques Becker's ( casque d'or" "Goupi mains rouges" "le trou" and other great classics)son.Like father,like son,definitely not.