Une robe d'été

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Une robe d'été
Directed by	François Ozon
Produced by	Olivier Delbosc
Written by	François Ozon
Music by	Sonny Bono
Cinematography	Yorick Le Saux
Editing by	Jeanne Moutard
Release date(s)	1996
Running time	15 mins
Country	France
Language	French
IMDb profile

Une robe d'été is a 1996 short film directed by François Ozon about a lagging gay relationship that is refueled in an unexpected way.

[edit] Plot

Luc (Frédéric Mangenot), a young man in his late teens / early twenties, spends his holiday at the sea together with his slightly older and decidedly more effeminate boyfriend Sébastien (Sébastien Charles). At the house they have rented, Sébastien's constant dancing and preening drives Luc crazy and so he heads to the beach, hoping to find some solitude.

There, he meets Lucia (Lucia Sanchez), who suggests for the two of them to have sex immediately. Luc obliges, perhaps also to find out if maybe he is heterosexual after all. During their encounter, Luc's clothes are stolen. After having sex Lucia learns that Luc is gay and has never been with a woman.

Lucia lends Luc her summer dress (hence the title), so he can go home by bike. Wearing a woman's dress improves Luc's mood as people whistle after him and he gets back a sense of freedom. Back at the house, Luc surprises Sébastien, and the two have passionate sex in the kitchen, with Sébastien referring to Luc as his "beautiful girl".

The next day, Luc brings Lucia, who is just leaving, back her summer dress, but she refuses, certainly knowing how important it will be in the sexual role play between the two men and then kisses Luc goodbye.

[edit] Reception

What sets Une robe d'été apart from other short movies is that a lot of inner development of the characters takes place in the short time span covered by the narrative. In the case of Luc, who starts out with slight resentments against his boyfriend and perhaps his homosexuality in general, straight sex and cross-dressing are a catalyst for self-acceptance in the end.

The film won awards at the Brest European Short Film Festival and the L.A. Outfest.