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7 sultry films to watch this summer
Discover seven sultry films to watch this summer, between scorching beaches, burning romances, and tensions running high. From Pauline at the Beach to Point Break, these memorable cinematic works will completely immerse you in a summery atmosphere…
By Alexis Thibault.
Pauline at the Beach by Éric Rohmer
On a pastel beach in Normandy, French filmmaker Éric Rohmer orchestrates a sentimental ballet of rare elegance. Pauline, a smart teenager, quietly observes the adult games with calm curiosity, while the dialogues crystallise romantic contradictions. Here, the sun shines less on skin than on false pretences. Beneath this light summer surface lies a study in thwarted desires, where irony bites gently. Pauline at the Beach is a summery film, but not a holiday one.
Pauline at the Beach (1983) by Éric Rohmer, available on Canal VOD.
La Piscine by Jacques Deray
The scorching sun beats down on the hills of Saint-Tropez. But what’s truly suffocating is the sexual tension. La Piscine (1969) brings together Romy Schneider and Alain Delon in a sweltering setting where every silence becomes suspicious. This swimsuit-clad huis clos full of in sensuality unfolds like a psychological thriller leading to tragedy… Long underrated, this timeless film is now being rediscovered for its elegant direction and subtle eroticism.
La Piscine (1969) by Jacques Deray, available on Canal VOD.
Point Break by Kathryn Bigelow
A cult classic! In Point Break (1991), Kathryn Bigelow captures the waves like others capture fireworks. The director is currently working on A House of Dynamite, a political thriller starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson. Keanu Reeves plays a young undercover cop, who falls under the spell of a gang of surfer/bank robbers led by a mystic Patrick Swayze. Beyond the action, the film is an ode to surrendering, to heat, to the sea, to self-transcendence. A sun-drenched, electric, and deeply romantic film in its approach to freedom. A spectacular action movie that emphasises the philosophical dimension of surfing more than its athletic one.
Point Break (1991) by Kathryn Bigelow, available on Canal VOD.
Call Me by Your Name by Luca Guadagnino
A kitschy flop to some, a magnificent interlude to others… Call Me by Your Name (2017) tells the story of a teenager awakening to love under the sun in a sensual languor. It’s a summer frozen in amber, somewhere in Italy, in 1983. Luca Guadagnino films bodies and landscapes with an almost tangible care. Because the relationship between Elio and Oliver — Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer — doesn’t burst into flames. It takes its time. Few films manage to capture with such delicacy the bittersweet taste of a summer romance, one destined to last no longer than the season itself.
Call Me by Your Name (2017) by Luca Guadagnino, available on Netflix and Prime Video.
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Anthony Minghella
A refined noir drama, acclaimed by the critics upon its release for its cleverness and formal beauty… In The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), the Italian sunlight serves as a deceptive veil over a murky, gripping plot. Matt Damon plays a fascinating impostor who insinuates himself into another man’s life under the sun of Ischia. The film dazzles with its psychological tension and artistic direction: sumptuous sets, impeccable costumes, and elegant direction reminiscent of Hitchcockian thrillers. With a flawless cast — Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett — the film explores identity construction, social envy, and the cost of deception.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) by Anthony Minghella, available on Paramount+.
The Beaches of Agnès by Agnès Varda
In The Beaches of Agnès (2008), the sea is more than a backdrop — it becomes a fluid metaphor for a life in motion. Agnès Varda crafts a delicate self-portrait, both intimate and playful, where personal memories, film fragments, and real beaches graceful met. Both funny and melancholic, this hybrid documentary was praised for its free-spirited tone, visual creativity, and rejection of biographical conventions. The late French filmmaker, who passed away in 2019, summons her dead, her loves, images, struggles, while remaining vividly alive, present and curious. As a true artistic testament, The Beaches of Agnès is perhaps one of cinema’s most beautiful tributes… to itself.
The Beaches of Agnès (2008) by Agnès Varda, available on MUBI.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen
Under Barcelona’s scorching sun, two American women on holiday meet a Spanish painter and his fiery ex-wife. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) explores the contradictions of desire with a deceptively light touch and a sensual, almost sultry direction. The controversial filmmaker Woody Allen turns the summery postcard into a landscape filled with melancholy and irony, far from a naïve romantic comedy. Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, and Oscar-winning actress Penélope Cruz form an electrifying trio. Here, summer becomes a stage for romantic hesitations, interrupted impulses, and fleeting passions. A sun-drenched and unsettling film in which the heat seems to warp emotions.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) by Woody Allen, available on PremiereMax.
