In the 80s, industrialist Marcel Dassault ruled the movie business in France. He was a powerful producer, being responsible for such hits as the two "La Boum" films, which marked a generation of French teens. His goal was to promote the image of the "ideal" French family through the movies he produced and financed; so it is that everyone in them lives in privileged regions, dresses flawlessly, and speaks to their parents with rudeness that sticks to the level of "You don't understand me", or, even better, thanks to Danièle Thompson, "You don't feed me". It is of no significance that the actors themselves mostly came from the lower classes (Sophie Marceau instantly comes to mind) or just generally didn't have picture-perfect lives. No, for M. Dassault, all a teen film needed was a lame plot, likeable characters, and an ending for which one waits so much as for the train when having twelve cars.
In this film, Alexandre Sterling (Mathieu, Vic's lover in "La Boum") plays a boy who gets the opportunity to relive his great childhood love ten years later - from the title we can guess that he and his girlfriend were fifteen years old when their love was resurrected.
The rest of the story isn't very memorable, but in short, the two lovers' parents are so moved by their children's romance that they let them live it as much as possible by throwing parties in their pool houses. The film was relentlessly promoted in the teen magazines of the time because of the fact that Sterling's father was played by famous singer Michel Sardou. He was mostly known for his songs with controversial lyrics, such as "Être une femme", which was criticized by feminists at the time for mocking the emancipation of women. Regardless of that, Sardou wasn't exactly a talented actor and drove the film nowhere.
The only thing I liked about the film was the music, and when I write this, I mean the theme song. Having the same title as the film and performed by Fabrice Ploquin, it is a nice romantic ballad, typical of what the French 80s had to offer (I'm reminded of "Le géant de papier" by Jean-Jacques Lafon, another mildly depressing song which creates a nostalgic feeling to the listener). It is arranged nicely, with the voices accompanying the singer giving his voice a beautiful echo that pleases the ear. The violins and the piano which are dominant in matters of musical accompaniment create the melody, which is pleasing and dreamy, travelling the listener to this (or maybe a more fun) summer.
The director Marcel Jullian did nothing special here, just letting the actors do whatever they thought good for their scenes. This is what differentiates him from a director like Claude Pinoteau, who excellently used his young actors' potential in "La Boum". Sterling was one of them, and it was because of films like "L'été de nos quinze ans" that his career went downhill.
In conclusion, "L'été de nos quinze ans" is of no interest to the 80s teen movie fan, except if they want to see every film of this genre, or explore the filmography of the unlucky La Boum actors, something which I did, discovering a sea of mediocrity along the way. Maybe when one crosses this sea is when they discover the real work of the lost "La Boum generation". It's not worth it. What you'll find is more pointless films. The sea of mediocrity ultimately leads to some pool houses, beautiful from the outside, with a sign that signals what's to come reading: "PROPERTY OF MARCEL DASSAULT".
