The 19th feature from acclaimed French filmmaker François Ozon, Summer of 85 is based on Aidan Chambers’ 1982 novel Dance on my Grave, one of the first Young Adult books published by a major house to depict homosexuality. For many teens (including Ozon, apparently), it was a hugely influential part of adolescence. A beautifully shot film (the French seaside setting plays a big role), Summer of 85 feels like a throwback to that decade: colorful, dramatic, and a little obvious. That tone, however, might mainly be due to the POV of its protagonist, a 16-year-old in the throes of love.

Alexis (Felix Lefebvre)—or Alex, as he has begun calling himself)—a cherubic blonde teen who is casually obsessed with death, has recently moved to a seaside town in Normandy where his father is a dockworker. One day he takes out a friend’s boat and capsizes, only to be saved by a slightly older, much savvier teen, David (the perfectly cast Benjamin Voisin). Early in the film, Alex refers to this angular, charismatic stranger as a “future corpse,” so we know upfront that David is doomed. In a flash-forward, we see Alex being interviewed about his role in some unnamed crime, ostensibly related to David’s demise.

After the boating incident, David takes Alex under his well-muscled wing, bringing him home to meet his widowed mother (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) who makes him undress and take a hot bath. She’s uncomfortably flirtatious, but her neediness is somewhat mitigated by the fact that she seems genuinely thrilled that her son has a new friend. After his father’s death, she explains, David ran wild, but is now “back,” thanks to Alex. The boys’ relationship evolves quickly into something deeper as Alex becomes increasingly enthralled with the reckless, cocky David.

Meanwhile, the film continues to toggle back and forth between past and present, where Alex’s no-nonsense caseworker (Aurore Broutin) futilely asks for details of his relationship with David so that she can present his case to the judge. She eventually meets with Alex’s French teacher (Melvil Poupaud) who encouraged the boy to write down his story. There is a stark contrast between the happily infatuated Alex of the not so distant past (though intense, the relationship lasted only six weeks), and the sullen, dulled version who is being questioned. Slowly the mystery unravels, with several more jumps back and forth in time.

Of course, Alex and David’s relationship could not last, especially after English au pair Kate (Philippine Velge) shows up on the scene. There is jealousy and emotional devastation for Alex, followed by tragedy. Afterward, he becomes even more obsessed with David, which seems far-fetched, except that it is happening to a 16-year-old.

In addition to the striped and pastel-colored clothes and tiered haircuts of the time, Summer of 85 includes an appropriate soundtrack (The Cure, Bananarama) with the exception of Rod Stewart’s mid-’70s version of “Sailing.” The song underscores two important scenes in the movie, one inside a dance club and a climactic final scene. Though seemingly out of step with the film’s other time-perfect details, it pulls the narrative out of a nostalgic haze into a kind of timelessness.

As for the uncomplicated narrative and somewhat cliched dialogue, Ozon has clearly chosen to mirror his character’s POV completely, a somewhat risky approach, as the film can seem a bit shallow. A fitting movie for Pride Month, Summer of 85 will resonate more with some than others, though its theme of youthful infatuation is universal.

Summer of 85 opens on Friday, June 18, at select theaters including the Angelika Film Center and the Village East in NYC.

—Marina Zogbi