A Burning Hot Summer

I have never seen a Garrel film untouched by grace, and A Burning Hot Summer is no exception.

While I have to acknowledge Garrel's skill, the film, which actually has its compelling moments, falls somewhat flat.

Garrel's work is indebted to silent cinema style, but his recent films have shown a real flair for dialogue too.

"A Burning Hot Summer" failed to persuade me of any reason for its existence.

There are spirited moments, notably Angle's torrid dance with another man at a party. But the film's observations are surprisingly retrograde, even absurd.

Here and elsewhere you linger in moments that, like memories and dreams, can feel severed from storybook time.

Though shot in swanky color, the film retains the alternately trying and invigorating starkness of the director's recent, black-and-white efforts.

A Burning Hot Summer wisely knows when and how to surgically slice directly to the bone. It's a bad romance of the highest order.

Although Angle's religious faith and Frdric's belief in luck seem like strained attempts at adding heft to the material, the film nevertheless works up a potent dramatic restlessness...

The Louis Garrel character's mixture of self-containment and alleged possessiveness over his wife fails to convince, if not to irritate.