La Niña’s spent half the year spinning the blues from the clouds and well, we really missed you summer! In homage to our sunniest summer in *literal years*, we bring you eight of our favourite summer films (for feels). From the quintessential heated romance to the travellers journey to coming of age tales and the Australian classics — they’re all here.
Swimming Pool (2003)
Watch if you: Need some sun soaked thrills and spills
An uptight middle-aged spinster novelist, suffering from a writer’s block, comes to stay at a villa in [location]. Soon, her peace is disrupted by the arrival of the owner’s lusty teen daughter and her many love affairs (both people and substances). Gets very intriguing to say the least — a little new wave, a little erotic, very French.
The Blue lagoon
Watch if you: Are dreaming of island swims and a summer romance
Two ship-wrecked youngsters wash up on an island, with nothing but their innocence to guide them. A sweet, somewhat silly tale of childhood, love, solitude and well, coming of age.
Watch if you: want to understand love
Romeo and Juliette could never. This is a classic tale of forbidden love and youth, as told by the people of Tanna, in the South Pacific. An Australian-Ni-Vanuatu film that received much praise for its awe-inspiring visuals and intensive storytelling. Captivating.
Babyteeth (2014)
Watch if you: Need to shed a tear or if you’re reminiscing on your youth
We’re not crying, you are! This is the kind of story that leaves the feels on the mind days after watching. All tears aside, Babyteeth captures what it means to lust for life, how to hold on and how to let go — a fearless debut from Shannon Murphy about young love.
Walkabout (1971)
Watch if you: Want to understand
There ares many layers to this film, both culturally and cinematically. I Walkabout reflects on the mystery of communication — how we understand each other, the land, how we treat one another. The whole film is drenched in sunlight and captures the vast beauty that is Australia. Wanderlust and contemplative rage, summer or not — press play.
Stealing beauty (1996)
Watch if you: Are dreaming of italian summers
Liv Tyler, the 90s, Tuscany, floral dresses, metaphors bound in clay (lots of sculpture, many-a-scene of erotic ceramic-making) and learning how to decipher love from lust. Special mention goes to a fabulous Coppola-esque soundtrack — think Mazzy Star to Portishead.
Pauline at the beach (1983)
Watch if you: Want a crepe and some summer luvin’
French. New. Wave. Anything by director Eric Rohmer makes the cut, and this is ann obvious pick — a quintessential summer flick, if we ever saw one.. ‘Pauline At The Beach’ is a romantic comedy, framed by scenes from the picturesque Normandy coast — waves, pixie cuts and smooching in the sea.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Watch if you: Love, love
Look, we’re not going to say anything. IFYKYK and if you don’t, you should. Peaches, beaches, holding hands in secret, Italy. Only released in 2017, but already a queer cinema classic.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Watch if you: Want to see crisp, tailored shirts and spine-tingling beauty
Duh! Hotels (our favourite setting), saucy murder, people so typically hot you can only scoff. Italian vistas, White Lotus eat-the-rich vibes, minus the meme-worthy humour.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Watch if you: Have a gut feeling
On a St. Valentine’s Day at the turn of the century, a party of girls from a strict boarding school go on an outing to Hanging Rock, a geological outcropping not far from their school. Part of the group vanish inexplicably. An Australian classic — it’s grip on the Australian collective cinematic memory has been long lasting.
City of God (2002)
Watch if you’re: Doing a runner
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.