10 Films That Look And Feel like Summer

Set on the Italian islands of Ischia and Procida, just off the Amalfi Coast, as well as Palermo and Venice, The Talented Mr Ripley is drenched in golden sunshine, la dolce vita and a spot of crime. Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is paid by a shipbuilding tycoon to bring back his entitled, privileged son, Dickie (Jude Law) back from Italy. Enamored by the moneyed, carefree and luxurious life that Dickie leads, Ripley became obsessed by his new friend and the storyline takes a sinister turn. Sun, sex and jazz; The Talented Mr Ripley is an Oscar-winning classic.

Roman Holiday was Audrey Hepburn’s first major film role and sees her play a princess who, feeling trapped by her tight schedule, leaves her country’s embassy to see Rome on her own. She ends up innocently spending the night with a reporter (Gregory Peck) who has no idea who she is. He eventually finds out and, although he’s initially set on selling his story, ends up falling for the princess and suddenly his prospective scoop doesn’t seem as important anymore. The two share a brief, sweet romance with Rome as their playground, which they explore on a classic vespa.

Nothing much happens in Dazed and Confused, but that’s beside the point. Richard Linklater’s film, which takes place on the last day of school, looks at the feelings we have at leaving school: the aimlessness, the yearning and the optimism. The young cast were largely set for stardom, including Matthew, Ben Affleck, Jason London, and Milla Jovovich. It might lack structure, but its whimsy is part of its enduring charm. The soundtrack alone makes it worth a watch.

Liv Tyler stars as a 19-year old who goes to visit her bourgeois bohemian aunt and uncle who live in a beautiful Tuscan farmhouse, in the hope that she might find her real father and also to reignite her crush on local neighbor, Niccolo. This is a coming of age film set in the most beautiful environment, its heat amplified by Bernardo Bertolucci’s languid, wistful style of film-making. Nights are long, sultry and hot, innocence is lost and life lessons gleaned in this unforgettable, atmospheric tale. Liv Tyler’s '90s summer wardrobe is also worthy of your attention, all wafty floral dresses teamed with beat-up sandals or sneakers.

The ever-stylish Bonjour Tristesse might have been poorly received when it was first released in 1958, but it is now regarded as a cinematic great in which Jean Seberg gives the performance of her tragically short career (she killed herself aged 40 after the FBI published lies about her). She plays Cecile, a spoilt, flirty teenager who goes on holiday to the French Riviera with her playboy father (David Niven). Their questionably libertine relationship is disrupted when his new partner arrives (Deborah Kerr), Anne, the best friend of his late wife. Cecile does her best to break up Anne and her father to disastrous consequences.

The Greek tiny island of Skopelos enjoyed a huge tourism boost after the release of Mamma Mia in 2008. Cheesy, feel-good and fun, it’s hard not to find yourself smiling through the star-filled film which sees Piers Brosnan, Meryl Streep, and Colin Firth demonstrate their (sometimes limited) Abba-related vocal skills with enthusiasm. Featuring all the trappings of summer: sunshine, picnics, flings, alfresco dinners and boat trips, Mamma Mia might not be critically acclaimed, but it is gloriously non-judgmental (there are few films made about a woman who doesn’t know which ma fathered her child), celebratory and is a fast-track to sunny skies.

Few films capture the seemingly endlessness of school holidays and their capacity for adventure as Stephen King’s cult Stand By Me. The story, largely regarded as the best coming-of-age film of all time, focuses on four young boys who go on a hike to find the dead body of a missing child. It’s about the intensity and importance of childhood friendship, growing up and, also, it turned out to be prophetic. At the end of the film we find out that River Phoenix’s character, Chris Chambers, dies trying to break up a fight. Seven later, Phoenix died of an overdosed outside a nightclub in LA.

Oscar-winning Call Me By Your Name, a beautiful take on first love, encapsulates so many of summer’s offerings, riding bikes in the sunshine, sunbathing all day, sunset dips in the sea and eating good food outside. Its Northern Italy setting is easy on the eye too and, on a deeper level, a reflection of what the film is all about: heat, beauty, and emotion. Amid the peach trees and the plunge pool, the sense of summer is palpable.

Proof of how much can happen even in Britain’s short summers is My Summer of Love, starring Emily Blunt and Nathalie Press as two teenagers from the opposite sides of the track who strike an unlikely, yet intense friendship. Against the beautiful backdrop of Yorkshire, the two spend a summer listening to Edith Piaf, getting drunk, and enjoying moments of charged intimacy. But summer always has to come to an end, and often with it the joyfulness of the sunshine months. While the plot might be familiar, its captivating retelling and strong performances makes it feel fresh.

Luca Guadagnino, who was also behind Call Me By Your Name, brings his evocative filmmaking to the sun-drenched Sicilian island of Pantelleria. World famous rock star Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) and her handsome younger boyfriend Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) are on holiday where she is recovering from surgery whereby she has lost her voice. Their solitude is disrupted by an unwanted visitor in the form of an insufferable music promoter (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson). The film’s name is inspired by the famous Hockney painting, and is every bit as vivid and visually brilliant. The simmering sexual tension and smoldering heat reaches a crescendo that you won’t see coming. Warning: Tilda Swinton’s chic Dior summer wardrobe will make you want to replace everything you own.