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» » L'été en pente douce (1987)

Short summary

Fane wants nothing but a quiet countryside life with the woman and the sweet, brain damaged brother he loves. Envious neighbours however have plans of their own.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Zan
    The gritty decors combine interestingly with a dreamlike plot, pitting the hero and his "borderline" brother against the hostility of his home town, inflamed by his return, after his mother's death, with his Marilyn-Monroe-imitating girlfriend/fiancee. Although the conclusion is a bit facile, this film should go down in history for Pauline Lafont's - and the director's - creation of Lilas. Incarnating a male fantasy leavened with reminiscences of her mother Bernadette's powerful performance in Nelly Kaplan's _La fiancee du pirate_, Lafont generates more sheer sexual magnetism than any other woman I have ever seen on screen, whether rated R or XXX. It's wrenching to recall that this vibrant young woman died in an accident a year later at the age of 25.
  • comment
    • Author: Fenius
    Fane ( the as usual excellent Jean-Pierre Bacri ) lives in a poor quarter, drinking beers with pals most of the time. One day, he trades his neighbour's girl, the very 'shagadelic' Lilas ( the beautiful Pauline Lafont ) for a rabbit. The next day, learning her mother's death, he drives to her house, in a small village in the south of France, bringing Lilas with him. There, he mets Mo, his brother, disabled since he has played as a kid with hand grenades. Fane wants to marry Lilas, to become a writer and keep Mo out of the hospital. He wants to change, to make something of his life, but the jealousy and nastiness of the village will upset everything...

    A poignant drama, magnificently played, with an Ennio Morricone-like music. One of the best movie of Pauline Lafont - who died in a car crash a few years later - and of J-P Bacri, before he started working, and living, with Agnes Jaoui. It's a bit sad, because everything goes wrong, but it's Truth. The description is very real. This movie shows why I'll never emigrate in a small village in the middle of nowhere. Gerard Krawczik made here a very good movie ; too bad he's also the one who recently made "Taxi 2".

    8/10
  • Cast overview, first billed only:
    Jacques Villeret Jacques Villeret - Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
    Jean-Pierre Bacri Jean-Pierre Bacri - Stephane Leheurt aka Fane
    Pauline Lafont Pauline Lafont - Lilas
    Guy Marchand Guy Marchand - Andre Voke
    Jean Bouise Jean Bouise - Olivier Voke
    Jean-Paul Lilienfeld Jean-Paul Lilienfeld - Shawenhick
    Jacques Mathou Jacques Mathou - Jeannot
    Dominique Besnehard Dominique Besnehard - Leval
    Claude Chabrol Claude Chabrol - The priest
    Patrick Braoudé Patrick Braoudé - Gendarme
    Laurent Gendron Laurent Gendron - L'américain
    Andrée Laberty Andrée Laberty - Mme Castillon
    Michel Lataste Michel Lataste - Patron Café des sports
    Michel Such Michel Such - Paul le vigile
    Georges Vaur Georges Vaur - M. Bressoul
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