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Kaveh Daneshmand’s Endless Summer Syndrome presents a family drama set in the French countryside, creating an atmosphere that defies immediate comfort. Daneshmand’s initial film explores subtle tension and intimate moments, with each quiet scene suggesting deeper, more sinister undertones. The story goes beyond a typical family vacation, instead examining relationships, trust, and the hidden dynamics that can fracture an apparently perfect household.

The narrative blends family drama with psychological tension, focusing on Delphine (Sophie Colon), a mother who receives a disturbing phone call exposing a taboo secret about her husband, Antoine. This revelation triggers a sequence that dismantles the family’s seemingly seamless exterior.

The picturesque French landscape—with expansive gardens, a poolside area, and warm golden light—creates a stark contrast to the growing emotional strain. While the family’s affluence and beautiful setting initially suggest stability, the environment gradually becomes oppressive as Delphine’s increasing anxiety permeates previously secure spaces.

In a much-clipped moment from his Criterion Closet video, philosopher and cultural theorist Slavoj Žižek pulls a DVD copy of Louis Malle’s Murmur of the Heart from the shelf and remarks upon it warmly as “one of those nice gentle French movies where you have incest.” Žižek’s enigmatic comment springs to mind watching Endless Summer Syndrome, the feature-directing debut of Iranian director Kaveh Daneshmand––primarily because the film delights in upending every other word in that iconic sentence.

Lawyer Delphine (newcomer Sophie Colon) enjoys a pleasant country life with her husband Antoine (Matheo Capelli) and their two adopted children, Adia (Frédérika Milano) and Aslan. Aslan is preparing to leave to study in New York, and the family are spending a few final picturesque days at home together by the pool. Then the phone rings. A colleague of Antoine’s confides in Delphine that her husband spoke, in an end-of-work-party stupor,...

Kaveh Daneshmand’s “Endless Summer Syndrome” unfolds like a Chekhov drama. Set in an idyllic country house where a family of four is enjoying the final lazy days of summer, the French film is jolted into focus with a whispered allegation that risks upending a mother’s picture-perfect image of those she loves. Awash in bright sunny images and careening toward a dark, knotted ending, Daneshmand’s family drama makes for an increasingly disquieting watch, the unseemly secret at its center as poisonous as the pet snail which serves as a waiting Chekhov’s gun.

Delphine (Sophie Colon) has what looks like a perfect family. The human rights activist, who finds time during her summer holiday to take part in important Zoom town halls on the primacy of family values, has been happily married for decades to Antoine (Mathéo Capelli), a successful novelist. The pair have two adoptive children: Aslan...

"I just want her to be safe." Yet another French film that gets extremely provocative with its plot about sex. Altered Innocence has revealed an official US trailer for Endless Summer Syndrome, a French dark comedy romantic thriller that will be released this December in the US. Hitting theaters and VOD after first premiering in 2023. This French drama titled Le syndrome de l'été sans fin is actually made by an Iranian-Czech filmmaker named Kaveh Daneshmand. The mother of two adopted children's sense of duty takes a macabre turn when she learns that her husband may be having an affair with one of their kids. Uh oh. So what comes next? "This boundary pushing debut feature by Kaveh Daneshmand paints an intimate portrait of an upper-class French family with sly black humor and sensuality aplenty." This stars Sophie Colon, Mathéo Capelli, Gem Deger, and Frédérika Milano. This trailer also features a...