GFF16 Review: Summertime (La Belle Saison)

Catherine Corsini casts a delicate glance over women’s
liberation and female sexuality in the seventies set French drama, 
Summertime (La belle saison). With a gorgeous visual palette on hand, Corsini’s
tale showcases an ideological battle between small-town France and Parisian metropolitanism.

Closeted Delphine (Izïa Higelin) leaves her family farm in
Limousin to start afresh in Paris – here, she meets and falls in love with
militant feminist, Carole (Cécile De France). When tragedy strikes Delphine
returns home to tend to the farm, yet arouses suspicions within the surrounding
town when she brings ‘friend’ Carole back with her.

Corini and co-writer Laurette Polmanss cover a wide scope in
their ambitious narrative, but most interesting is their focus on gay life in
the seventies. Whilst our protagonists sexualities are never explicitly
classified, Corsini’s exploration of a same sex relationship in the urban
Parisian metropolis compared to the countryside of Limousin makes for a
fascinating subject matter. In terms of characterisation, tomboy Delphine goes
from extroverted wild child in Paris to a wallflower upon returning back to the
closet of her childhood home. Themes of loyalty to family and trueness to
oneself come into question, making the emotional dilemma at the core of
Summertime all the more pressing.

Whilst the women’s rights angle feels somewhat familiar in
terms of narrative content, Corsini’s film shines when simply capturing the
convincing relationship between our two leads and the subsequent strains placed
on it when relocated to the countryside. As suspicions arise from the
small-minded locals and Carole grows increasingly frustrated at having to
suppress their relationship, Summertime occasionally feels tense although this
is never fully sustained in favour of emotionally-charged melodrama.

There’s some interesting material regarding small-town
attitudes and Corsini captures the difficulty that so many face in the ‘coming
out’ process in a more conservative time  – a situation that sadly still
resonates with a contemporary audience. Much of the credibility of Summertime
is indebted to performances of De France and Higelin who capture the ups and
downs of a relationship – chronicling the passion and pain with tender
elegance. Cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie excels at capturing the titular
season – particularly as the film moves from built-up Paris to the gorgeously
sparse and sun-drizzled countryside.

Whilst there are occasional glimpses of familiarity,
Summertime transcends this in its second act, going on to elegantly tackle love
and the struggles that fall alongside it.

★★★★