L'Heure d'été (Summer Hours) (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Rubia Carolina .

  
  "Summer Hours" is a movie about life just like life is. Such as we see in "L´eau froide", Olivier Assayas offer us great and naturalistic interpretations/characters placed in simple stories without almost any action. As realistic as it is possible. </br>… More
  "Summer Hours" is a movie about life just like life is. Such as we see in "L´eau froide", Olivier Assayas offer us great and naturalistic interpretations/characters placed in simple stories without almost any action. As realistic as it is possible. </br> </br>

• Michael S

  
  "Summer Hours" from Olivier Assayas is a completely absorbing and poignant character piece; one of the finest and most authentic films about the family dynamic and the unexpected twists and turns our lives take I've ever seen. Assayas crafts an extremely intimate film… More
  "Summer Hours" from Olivier Assayas is a completely absorbing and poignant character piece; one of the finest and most authentic films about the family dynamic and the unexpected twists and turns our lives take I've ever seen. Assayas crafts an extremely intimate film here. Whereas a lesser filmmaker would have audiences feeling as if they were intruding on matters so personal, he invites us into his narrative and makes us a part of his characters lives. It's lush, warm, and soothing visuals and tone ensure that we've enjoyed our stay. A remarkable and heartwarming triumph.

• Jim H

  
  A kindly matriarch leaves her palatial country estate to her three grown children who, after her death, debate whether or not to sell and what is lost if they do. The concept for the film is strong, and by and large, the performances are subtle, nuanced, and strong. However, the film… More
  A kindly matriarch leaves her palatial country estate to her three grown children who, after her death, debate whether or not to sell and what is lost if they do. The concept for the film is strong, and by and large, the performances are subtle, nuanced, and strong. However, the film is simply too slow. At about the beginning of the second act, we've already figured out the film's theme and have a very good idea about how it's going to end, and for the last hour, we're waiting for the film to catch up to its audience.

• Cynthia S

  
  A typical French film: heavy on feelings, and relationships, with no seeming action or purpose. Well done, good insight into people trying to lead a good life, showing life takes control of us and goes on in spite of ourselves. But unbearably slow...ZZZzzzzzzzzzz.

• Jake .

  
  They say that you should never judge things by their cover and I've always been among the rebellious minority who ignore this advice. After all, a cover or poster is usually more than sufficient to reveal a film's style and purpose. However, in the case of Summer Hours,… More
  They say that you should never judge things by their cover and I've always been among the rebellious minority who ignore this advice. After all, a cover or poster is usually more than sufficient to reveal a film's style and purpose. However, in the case of Summer Hours, 'they' are acutally right. The marketing of the film is incredibly tacky, while the actual film is incredibly beautiful. Rarely is afilm that strives for so much realism this artistic and lavish in it's design. Every scene, every moment, every shot is just so simple and low key. Part of the beauty even seems to stem from the fact that everythiing is definitely very real, incredibly beautiful, but real. The family dynamics and relationships are great and well-done, but that really isn't what stuck with me in the end. Ultimately, it is a peaceful and poetic film; one that lacks pretension and one that creates a family and world that realistically reflects the brighter side of humanity.

• Greg S

  
  Three siblings amicably divide a large French estate. Thoughtful, realistic and well-acted, but mundane, and even tedious at times.

• Gordon A

  
  Slight but affecting family tale which branches out into art's place in history and peoples' affections.

• Walter M

  
  Even with a couple of plot lines that end up in blind alleys, "Summer Hours" is a poignant and touching look at the passage of time in a single family as it moves further apart, with jumps in time from sequence to sequence. It starts innocently enough with the 75th birthday… More
  Even with a couple of plot lines that end up in blind alleys, "Summer Hours" is a poignant and touching look at the passage of time in a single family as it moves further apart, with jumps in time from sequence to sequence. It starts innocently enough with the 75th birthday celebration for Helene(Edith Scob) where she tells her oldest, Frederic(Charles Berling, who is excellent), an economist and writer, what she would like to happen to her house and belongings once she dies, forgetting what happened to King Lear when he tried something similar. It's actually more important than just a simple family matter, as she lives in a veritable museum that the Musee D'Orsay covets due to her uncle being a famous painter in his day. Frederic is stuck with the job because he is the only one still living in France while his siblings Adrienne(Juliette Binoche) and Jeremie(Jeremie Renier) live and work abroad. Frederic's intention is to keep the home where they all grew up in the family. To the movie's credit, they act like a real family as the siblings joke about old memories shared between them. All of whom are entering the stage in their lives where they are now the oldest in their families, to paraphrase "The Sopranos." In the end, "Summer Hours," in its own simple way, reminds us that all things come to an end, with all that is left is memories and a badly tended grave.

• Mark A

  
  The narrative framework of this quiet character study revolves around the death of the family matriarch and its aftermath. Helene (Edith Scob) lives on a beautiful country estate, filled with the art and furniture that had been collected by her uncle, a famous French artist. After her… More
  The narrative framework of this quiet character study revolves around the death of the family matriarch and its aftermath. Helene (Edith Scob) lives on a beautiful country estate, filled with the art and furniture that had been collected by her uncle, a famous French artist. After her death, her three children are left to sort out how to handle the dispersal of the estate. The three main characters, Frederic (Charles Berning), Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), and Jeremie (Jeremie Renier), brilliantly played, struggle with what to sell and what to keep. The interplay between the three comes across as real, and the emotions on display are conveyed masterfully. There is humor that felt natural and unforced. There is conflict, but so subtle and subdued that one is struck by how civil these three siblings are toward each other when dealing with incompatible desires. The scenery and sets are gorgeous, meticulous in their detail. One constantly wants to inhabit these people’s lives. There are a couple of side stories that seemed out of place and underdeveloped, as if thrown in to flesh out the film to feature length. It proved enough to mar the near perfect direction by Olivier Assayas, but not enough to spoil the experience.

• Jeff T

  
  Absolutely exquisite. The kind of film we can never make... Subtle, quiet, tiny and so, so accurate. This portrait of family at a time of change sneaks away from big emotion at every turn, only to be that much more moving. Shot like a dream, deeply felt and nuanced, this stunner… More
  Absolutely exquisite. The kind of film we can never make... Subtle, quiet, tiny and so, so accurate. This portrait of family at a time of change sneaks away from big emotion at every turn, only to be that much more moving. Shot like a dream, deeply felt and nuanced, this stunner is not to be missed.

• Chris B

  
  If you are a fan of personal and small scale family dramas then "Summer Hours" is a true treat and one of the most heartfelt and touching films I've viewed as of recently. The film looks at one family, a rather large one, consisting of a mom and her three children… More
  If you are a fan of personal and small scale family dramas then "Summer Hours" is a true treat and one of the most heartfelt and touching films I've viewed as of recently. The film looks at one family, a rather large one, consisting of a mom and her three children along with their families all revolving around the mother's beautiful country estate. In this estate there are many artistic pieces ranging from furniture, paintings, glassware, sculptures and much more all with some value; sentimental or financially valuable. The mom is sensing her mortality and tries to talk to her children, most notably her eldest Frederic who is the only one living in France still, about what comes after her passing. The subject proves a little much and it is pushed aside as their families are all moving about and have much going on while their mother sits in her estate of memories with only the housekeeper to keep her company. Shortly after a big party in which the mom had all her children over and tried discussing her will and plans, she sadly dies and the children are forced to confront and settle everything that they have put out of their minds for so long. It really is a poignant and touching Drama that shows both a personal look into one families dilemmas and situation but makes it universally applicable in the viewer's own personal life and family situations. The film really touched me and touched upon many situations and complications in my own family and really spoke to me at a very deep level. I would certainly recommend this to anyone as pretty much anyone who devotes the short film length and engages with it, can pull something useful that they may have been pushing away too.

• Daisy M

  
  Summer Hours was a story complete about on artists, designers, and their work .It was about donating, or selling these rare items after the owner died. Expensive objects was the heart of the movie, yet its a long plot and very talkative dialogue.The movie was another sentimental… More
  Summer Hours was a story complete about on artists, designers, and their work .It was about donating, or selling these rare items after the owner died. Expensive objects was the heart of the movie, yet its a long plot and very talkative dialogue.The movie was another sentimental French family dramas. The style of filming,following one or the other person trying to put some energy into a dead script.I felt not entertained and was super boring.

• Christopher B

  
  Life, death, aging, youth, family, letting things go and cherishing things forever are just a few of life's moments examined in the intelligent and meditative Summer Hours. However, those looking for a movie with even a moderately fast pace will be screaming at the screen,… More
  Life, death, aging, youth, family, letting things go and cherishing things forever are just a few of life's moments examined in the intelligent and meditative Summer Hours. However, those looking for a movie with even a moderately fast pace will be screaming at the screen, begging someone to shoot someone else or at least get in a car chase. The story is about 2 brothers and their sister, all in their middle aged years, dealing with their mother's estate after she dies. Great performances by everyone, especially Charles Berling, the brother who believes by holding on to keepsakes (however valued they are) will magically make his family stay together. Maybe it's because I'm hitting those middle age years myself, but I really enjoyed this examination on this family that probably would have had me fleeing the theater in my teenage years.

Read all 13 featured audience ratings