Hooking up with your step-mom in any form is obviously a big no-no. Still, when you’re step-mom wants to hook up with you, a teenage boy, well, I guess only French provocateur Catherine Breillat can be bold enough to pull off such a shocking tale which she seems to do in her new film, “Last Summer” (L’Été Dernier” in French; at least shocking to Americans, maybe it’s not as wild for the loose and free Europeans who think we are all Puritans).
Now 75 years of age, clearly, Breillat has not lost her edge or her need to push the envelope and break down audience comfort. Breillat is known for controversial films like “Fat Girl,” “Anatomy of Hell,” “Bluebeard,” “Abuse Of Weakness,” and more. In 2018, Breillat made controversial remarks about Asia Argento, who starred in her 2007 film, “The Last Mistress,” calling Argento a “traitor” for accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. Yikes, right?
A remake of the 2019 Danish film “Queen of Hearts,” “Last Summer” stars Léa Drucker, Samuel Kircher, and Olivier Rabourdin, and the film explores the taboos of a stepmother–stepson relationship.
Here’s the synopsis from Cannes:
‘Last Summer’ follows Anne, a brilliant lawyer who lives with her husband Pierre and their daughters. Anne gradually engages in a passionate relationship with Theo, Pierre’s son from a previous marriage, putting her career and family life in danger.
Our review from Cannes reads, “The bourgeois family is always a cover and a sham, specifically designed to allow for and contain the most shocking digressions. Breillat’s film is devastating because it exposes at the heart of a seemingly normal family a black hole where empathy should be.”
“Last Summer” has been acquired by Sideshow/Janus Films for North America, but that release has no firm date yet. However, a French trailer has been released by Xenix Film distribution; the film will be released in France on September 12; watch the new trailer below.