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{{Redirect|L'Heure d'été|the album by Marc Lavoine|L'Heure d'été (album)}}
{{Infobox film
|name           = Summer Hours
|image          = L'Heure d'été (2008 film) poster.jpg
|caption        = Theatrical release poster
|director       = [[Olivier Assayas]]
|producer       = Charles Gillibert<br />[[Marin Karmitz]]<br />[[Nathanaël Karmitz]]
|writer         = Olivier Assayas
|starring       = [[Juliette Binoche]]<br />[[Charles Berling]]<br />[[Jérémie Renier]] 
|music          = 
|cinematography = [[Eric Gautier]]
|editing        = Luc Barnier
|distributor    = MK2 Films
|released       = {{film date|df=y|2008|3|5}}
|runtime        = 103 minutes
|country        = France
|language       = [[French language|French]]
|budget         = $3.8 million <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=10087|title=L'heure d'été (Summer Hours) (2008) - JPBox-Office|website=www.jpbox-office.com|access-date=17 October 2022}}</ref>
|gross          = $7.8 million <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0836700/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 | title=Summer Hours }}</ref>
}}

'''''Summer Hours''''' ({{langx|fr|'''L'Heure d'été'''}}) is a 2008 French [[drama film]] written and directed by [[Olivier Assayas]]. It is the second in a series of films produced by the [[Musée d'Orsay]], after ''[[Flight of the Red Balloon]]''. In the film, two brothers and a sister witness the disappearance of their childhood memories when they must relinquish a family summer house and collection after the death of their mother. The film was a critical triumph in the United States.

==Plot==
On a summer day in the country, at the home of  the widowed Hélène Berthier, who has dropped her married name of Marly, her three children, their spouses, and all her grandchildren assemble for her 75th birthday. Her preoccupation is over what will happen to the house and the valuable contents accumulated by her uncle Paul Berthier, who was a noted artist and to whom she was devoted. She hopes the children will decide amicably among themselves. 

Shortly after her birthday she dies. The three heirs disagree about how to proceed. While Frédéric, the eldest, lives in Paris and wants to keep the house and contents as a place where the family can continue to gather. His two siblings both live overseas and want to keep just a few mementoes and convert the rest to cash. Adrienne lives in New York City with an American man, while Jérémie and his wife have made their home in China.

As Hélène made no legal provision, tax on the estate will be heavy. Their lawyer suggests reducing the bill by donating artefacts to the State. The Musée d'Orsay agrees to take some precious items for its collection. After that, the remaining contents are auctioned and the house sold. Before the new owners take over, Frédéric's daughter Sylvie asks all her school friends there for a final party. For one last time the place is full of happy young people. The faithful housekeeper takes fresh flowers to Hélène's grave.

==Cast==
*[[Charles Berling]] as Frédéric Marly
*[[Juliette Binoche]] as Adrienne Marly, Frédéric's younger sister
*[[Jérémie Renier]] as Jérémie Marly, Frédéric younger brother
*[[Édith Scob]] as Hélène Berthier
*[[Dominique Reymond]] as Lisa Marly, wife of Frédéric
*[[Valérie Bonneton]] as Angela Marly, wife of Jérémie
*[[Isabelle Sadoyan]] as Éloïse, Hélène's faithful housekeeper
*[[Alice de Lencquesaing]] as Sylvie Marly, Frédéric's elder child

==Production==
Principal photography began in Paris on 4 June 2007 and was completed on 27 July 2007. The film was known under the working titles ''Souvenirs du Valois'' and ''Printemps Passé''.

==Release==
The film received its United States premiere on October 1, 2008, at the 46th [[New York Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://evergreenreview.com/read/review-the-46th-new-york-film-festival/|last=Peterson|first=Matt|title=Review: The 46th New York Film Festival|journal=[[The Evergreen Review]]|issue=117|date=February 2009}}</ref> The [[Criterion Collection]] released a special edition of the film on April 20, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/473-summer-hours|title=Review: The 46th New York Film Festival|publisher=The Criterion Collection|access-date=17 October 2022}}</ref>

==Reception==
''Summer Hours'' was a critical triumph. It received 93% positive reviews on [[Rotten Tomatoes]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_hours|title=L'Heure d'été (Summer Hours) (2009)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Flixster]]|access-date=17 October 2022}}</ref> and was one of the most highly decorated foreign-language films in the United States in [[2009 in film|2009]]. The film won and was nominated for numerous critics' awards:

*[[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]
*[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]
*[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]
*[[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]
*Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film
*[[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2009|Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards]]
*[[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2009|Chicago Film Critics Association Awards]] (nominated)
*[[Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2009|Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language film]] (nominated)
*[[Houston Film Critics Society Awards 2009|Houston Film Critics Society Awards]] (nominated)
*[[Online Film Critics Society Awards 2009|Online Film Critics Society Awards]] (nominated)
*Denver Film Critics Society (nominated)
*[[Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2009|Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards]] (nominated)

[[Édith Scob]] was nominated for a [[César Awards 2009|César Award]] for her portrayal of Hélène.

In 2017 the film was named the ninth "Best Film of the 21st Century So Far" by ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dargis|first1=Manohla|author-link1=Manohla Dargis|last2=Scott|first2=A. O.|author-link2=A. O. Scott|title=The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century...So Far|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/09/movies/the-25-best-films-of-the-21st-century.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 June 2017|access-date=17 October 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|L'Heure d'été}}
*{{IMDb title|0836700}}
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1440-summer-hours-a-time-to-live-and-a-time-to-die ''Summer Hours: A Time to Live and a Time to Die''], an essay by [[Kent Jones (writer)|Kent Jones]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Summer Hours''
|list =
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
}}
{{Olivier Assayas}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summer Hours}}
[[Category:2008 drama films]]
[[Category:2008 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Olivier Assayas]]
[[Category:2000s French-language films]]
[[Category:French drama films]]
[[Category:Musée d'Orsay]]
[[Category:Films produced by Marin Karmitz]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Olivier Assayas]]
[[Category:2000s French films]]


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{{2000s-France-film-stub}}