Nominated for Best International Feature
Q&A with Director Kaveh Daneshmand + cast members, hosted by Broadcaster and Film Critic, Ashanti Omkar
Content warnings: nudity, sex and abuse
Delphine has it all — an affluent life, a prestigious career, an intelligent husband, and an adopted son and daughter. However, her splendidly idyllic holiday with the family by the pool takes a macabre turn when she learns that her husband may be having an affair with one of their kids.
Successful lawyer and mother Delphine receives an anonymous phone call that shifts her entire world – her husband Antoine could be having an inappropriate relationship with one of their adolescent adopted children. Delphine decides to uncover the real truth through observing her household, but may find out more than she is prepared for.
Kaveh Daneshmand’s film debut is a dark, mysterious investigation of the facades and illusions at play in the domestic home space. The surging, dissonant score by Matteo Hager and Jakub Trs powerfully reflects the gradual unravelling of Delphine’s psyche, as she urgently searches for answers.
The impressive cinematography by Cédric Larvoire utilises a tight 4:3 aspect ratio that, paired with the frequent use of close ups and mirror images, enhances the tension and suspense permeating through each family interaction. The vibrant, saturated colours of the summer landscape provide a bold juxtaposition to the unsettling subject matter, making the experience all the more disturbing as secrets are exposed.
Perturbing and nerve-racking, Endless Summer Syndrome highlights the distressing consequences of infidelity, reminding its viewers that family life is rarely perfect, and can be a guise for a darker reality that we are not always ready to confront.
Review by Larissa Guerrini-Maraldi
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