SCREENING IN THE BERNARD OSHER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM
“[T]here’s nothing obvious about this movie, which... creates an extraordinarily complex inquiry into desire and power.”
104 minutes. Not Rated. Directed by Catherine Breillat. In French with English subtitles. DCP.
With her first film in a decade, the fearless 75-year-old French auteur Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl, The Last Mistress) proves she’s as provocative as ever with her Cannes-stirring film, which drives down the dark road of uncontrollable passion. A remarkably nuanced, radiant Léa Drucker plays Anne, an attorney who has plateaued in her marriage to Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin), a distracted businessman. His son, troubled seventeen-year-old, Theo (Samuel 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. Music by Kim Gordon heightens the erotic tension of Last Summer, a film that boldly surveys power dynamics, female desire, and fulfillment.