Absolutely the worst movie.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

French actor, screenwriter and director Jean Becker's fifth feature film is an adaptation of a novel from 1977 by French director, screenwriter and author Sébastien Raprisot (1931-2003) who wrote the screenplay for the film. It premiered In competition at the 36th Cannes International Film Festival in 1983, was shot on various locations in France and is a French production which was produced by producer Christine Beytout. It tells the story about a flirtatious and ambiguous nineteen-year-old woman named Eliane Wieck who one hot summer returns to her hometown in provincial France with her German mother and handicapped father. Eliane's provocative behaviour makes everyone in town notice her and causes suspiciousness amongst the inhabitants, but one day she is approached by a nice local car mechanic named Fiorimonti who immediately falls in love with her, and a relationship begins to evolve.Finely and engagingly directed by French filmmaker Jean Becker, this finely tuned fictional tale which is narrated by Alain Souchon and mostly from his and the female protagonist's viewpoints, draws an intriguing and multifaceted portrayal of a traumatized and truth-seeking young woman who puts on a facade, acting like a poorly raised child, in order to find the truth about her past. While notable for it's warm and bright countryside milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by cinematographer Etienne Becker, production design by production designer Jean-Claude Gallouin and costume design by costume designer Therese Ripaud, this character-driven story about family relations, vengeance and love, depicts a dark study of character and contains a cryptic and efficient score by French composer Georges Delerue. This thoroughly written thriller and plot-twisting psychological drama from the early 1980s where a French stranger makes her presence known, is impelled and reinforced by it's engaging literary narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity, strong contrasts, impending atmosphere, French actress Isabelle Adjani's prominent acting performance as a bewitching femme fatale in a very complicated role and the fine acting performances by French actor Alain Souchon and French actress Suzanne Flon (1918-2005). An unsettling and diversely romantic mystery which gained the award for Best Actress Isabelle Adjani, Best Supporting actress Suzanne Flon, Best Editing and Best Writing - Adaptation at the 9th César Awards in 1984 and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 36th Cannes Film Festival in 1983.

It seems incredible, but I only got to see this picture 26 years after its release. A surprising plot that, at first, seems just like any other we would have already seen on screen. Allthou later it reveals itself to be full of surprises. Isabelle Adjani is at her peak of beauty and talent.One thing was always on my mind while watching her figure and style. It seems as if the director Jean Becker had based her image on one of Milo Manara's characters. Adjani's body lines and her face were a form of inspiration for one of these two artists.An absolute "must see".

Thirty years later,this movie tries to capture the atmosphere of the great Clouzot,Duvivier and Decoin film noirs of the forties and fifties.But it's wishful thinking.Because no one is HG Clouzot except HG Clouzot and do not expect the return of "diabolique ".Besides,novelist Sebastien Japrisot is one of the worst suspense writer France has ever known,and he's no match for Boileau-Narcejac,Simenon or Frédéric Dard.Such horrors like Litvak's "la dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil" and Clement's "la course du lièvre à travers les champs" (check the pretentious titles!)suffice to demonstrate this.With its "terrible past" flashbacks,its amateurish performances (Alain Souchon,a good singer but a poor actor),and Isabelle Adjani who tries to make up for the paucity of ideas by showing up completely naked(because of the heat of the Summer maybe),the movie can convince someone who has not seen a Hitchcock movie yet.But is there a thriller buff who hasn't? The story is inept,complicated instead of complex. "L'été meutrier" was one of the greatest hits of the eighties French box-office ,but the critics were tepid.Quite rightly so.Note:director Jean Becker is none other than Jacques Becker's ( casque d'or" "Goupi mains rouges" "le trou" and other great classics)son.Like father,like son,definitely not.

I have been searching to find the name of this film for nearly 3 years now because I am dying to see it again! I have to say IMDB's search capabilites ROCKS! I would never have found this if it weren't for the character search. I just didn't understand why Eliane moved right in with Pin-Pon and his family (I thought she was looking for the men who "hurt" her mother) and when she found the piano in the barn, she became even more suspicious of his family, but WHY did she continue to stay with him??? So, I will watch it again and come back after I figure out what in the world I missed the first time. Thanks IMDB!