Lounge In The Summer Heat With these 7 Movies
In this season of change and new beginnings, Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” takes a special place in our hearts. It’s a break from routines, a time for wild escapades and fleeting romances that are as passionate as the heat of the sun.
If you are hunting for the best international summer movies to add to your watchlist, here are seven movies on CinemaWorld that you can enjoy the summer vibes from the comfort of your own home. From a coming-of-age tale from the Philippines, to a chaotic comedy in sunny Italian countryside, summer is a wild time across the world.
1. The Bodin’s in Thailand
France
What could possibly go wrong when an eccentric 87-year-old mother takes her sheltered 50-year-old son to Thailand? Meet Maria Bodin, an overbearing mother determined to save her son, Christian, from his mid-life crisis.
Maria’s big plan? To fly her son far away from the French countryside, to the exotic and unfamiliar world of Thailand. Basking under the heat of the sun with their toes in white sandy beaches, the mother-son duo soon finds themselves stunned by culture shock and everything is lost in translation. And amidst the chaos is an incredible adventure awaiting them.
The Bodin’s in Thailand is a guaranteed wacky treat for the summer break!
2. Easy Living
Italy
A simple, easy watch on a sunny summer day. Set in a charming Italian seaside town, this slice of life film brings together wit and suspense, enveloped in warm pastel tones that call to mind Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name starring Timothee Chalamet.
The film follows the unlikely team formed by 14-year-old Brando, his sister Camilla who smuggles medicines across the French-Italian border, and Don, a bizarre, nudist American tennis coach who dreams of being a painter. On this fateful summer, their peace is disrupted when they meet Elvia, an illegal migrant trying to sneak across the border to reunite with his wife in Paris.
3. Love At First Fight
France
“Love is a battle, love is a war”—a quote that best describes the coming-of-age love story between two young recruits at a military bootcamp. Arnaud is looking forward to a peaceful summer, but his plans are quickly overturned when he meets the beautiful and brusque Madeleine, a girl who’s a hardcore conspiracy theorist. Believing the end of the world is bound to come, Madeleine signs up for a military bootcamp in preparation for the apocalypse, and Arnaud, compelled by her, joins the camp too.
As they march on in rain and shine into the battlefield of adulthood, the two begin to fall for each other.
4. Death Of Nintendo
Philippines, Singapore, USA
Return to the 90s where Nintendo gameboys are all the rage with the coming of age film Death Of Nintendo!
Set in the nostalgic summertime in Manila, the film centers around a group of 13-year-old teenagers navigating sexuality, puppy love, and their cultural identities.
That summer, a series of earthquakes leading up to Mt. Pinatubo’s historic volcanic eruption has been causing blackouts across the country, preventing Paolo and his friends, Kachi, Gilligan and tomboy Mimaw from playing video games. As the four teens seek adventures outdoors, a violent encounter with some bullies leads to a life-changing decision for the boys in the group. And when summer comes to an end, things are no longer quite the same as before.
5. All The Songs We Never Sang
Japan
A tribute to Japanese 80s City Pop and the vanishing art of pearl diving in coastal Japan, this hidden gem is an absolute must-watch. When 17-year-old Natsumi departs Tokyo for a sun-kissed, remote island, she arrives with a mission: to search for a hidden treasure left behind by her late mother.
Tracking down her mother’s estranged sister, Natsumi is surprised to find that her Aunt Reiko is her mother’s identical twin. The two women were once ama-san—traditional Japanese free-divers who harvested pearls without oxygen tanks—earning them the legendary local nickname of “mermaids.”
However, Natsumi turning up unannounced dredges up a wave of bitter family secrets and deep-seated resentment, and Reiko doesn’t want anything to do with her niece. Undeterred, she dives headfirst into the island's coastal lifestyle, determined to heal old wounds while escaping some trouble of her own.
6. Hard Shell, Soft Shell (Fragile)
France
In the sun-drenched port town in the south of France, soft-hearted oyster farmer Az is about to propose to his up-and-coming actress girlfriend, only to be rejected in the worst way possible—in the middle of a diner. Depressed and single, Az’s friends gather alongside him to hatch a plan to win his ex back.
In an absurd yet hilarious twist, childhood friend Lila who has just returned from Paris, convinces Az that all he needs to do is to charm his ex with something she loves—dance. With Lila as his new dance coach, the rest of the summer is spent picking up sultry hip-hop moves, much to the amusement of Az’s hypermasculine male friends.
Nominated for Best International Feature at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2022, Hard Shell, Soft Shell is a breezy, indie rom-com about masculine vulnerability, friendships, and unexpected romances that is bound to make you laugh out loud.
7. Like Crazy
Italy
Set against the breathtaking, golden hills of Tuscany, this critically acclaimed Italian comedy-drama pairs up two drastically different women in a psychiatric ward: Beatrice, a motor-mouthed, self-proclaimed billionaire countess who loves drama, and Donatella, a quiet, vulnerable introvert locked away in her own grief.
When a minor security lapse occurs during a clinic field trip, the duo seizes the moment and makes a chaotic run for it. A touching, hilarious summer road trip movie through the Italian countryside, their escape sets the unlikely pair on a roadtrip in search of happiness, closure, and a little bit of freedom from the shackles of their mysterious past.
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