That Kind of Summer

Viewer Advice: Contains high-impact sexual themes.

Following Denis Côté’s exploration of male entitlement in Social Hygiene (MIFF 2021), the Canadian auteur returns with an intimate look at female sexuality – well, hypersexuality.

Sex worker Geisha, abuse survivor Léonie and artist Eugénie are invited to a month-long therapeutic retreat in rural Quebec. Each woman harbours a complicated, not-entirely-healthy relationship with sex, but Mathilde, the retreat’s founder, aims not to ‘cure’ them but rather help them better understand their various proclivities and impulses, while also providing a ‘holiday’ from the chaos of their lives. But, heavily pregnant, Mathilde reluctantly cedes authority to German therapist Octavia, who has her own issues to deal with. Meanwhile, as the only man on site, gentle social worker Sami finds himself the object of the women’s libidinous attentions.

Alongside screenwriting adviser Rachel Graton, MIFF regular Côté (A Skin So Soft, MIFF 2017; Boris Without Beatrice, MIFF 2016) has crafted an observational, character-driven film that offers no judgement, no moralising and no easy answers. Shooting on 16mm, he follows the group – the ‘côtérie’, if you will – as they seek solace, self-awareness and, yes, sex. With a freewheeling vérité feel, however, That Kind of Summer is less a titillation than it is a meditation, ultimately exploring not lust but love and self-worth.

“The characters and performances grow and develop, unexpectedly, into something poignant.” – The Guardian