The sun is high, the air is bright and everyone is shouting “be happy” but… Cinema doesn’t think that way.

Summer movies are sometimes less a holiday season than a season of internal crises, poor decisions, and broken relationships. Beneath the surface, which shines in the summer sun, there&#39;s always a touch of melancholy. Summer movies seem to hide in the shadows, not the sun&#39;s glare. Here&#39;s a list of those &quot;heartbreaking but unforgettable&quot; summer movies.

Two lovers fight, make up, and break up again on the streets of Buenos Aires... When Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung&#39;s never-ending cycle combines with Wong Kar-wai&#39;s hyper-saturated colors, summer turns into a tropical nightmare. This film best captures how lonely love in a foreign city can feel.

Happy Together (1997, Wong Kar-wai)

A holiday with friends, a loss, and the resulting desires mixed with guilt... With Antonioni&#39;s cold and modernist gaze, the summer vacation turns into perhaps the most depressing journey in cinematic history. Monica Vitti&#39;s gaze can still chill you.

L'Avventura (1960, Michelangelo Antonioni)

A famous actor, played by Stephen Dorff, is stuck at the Chateau Marmont. The summer he spends with his daughter (a young Elle Fanning!) is the purest form of Coppola&#39;s &quot;luxury but lonely&quot; aesthetic. Here, the summer isn&#39;t spent by the pool, but rather in the frayed father-daughter bond. It has a bit of an Aftersun vibe.

Somewhere (2010, Sofia Coppola)

The stifling heat of Argentina, a dirty pool, and a family plagued by alcoholism… Martel reveals summer through his camera, turning ordinary moments into the darker side. Watching, you feel a pang of unease, because summer is no longer about joy, but about confrontation.

La Ciénaga (2001, Lucrecia Martel)

Rohmer&#39;s camera excels at capturing sun-drenched yet empty holidays. Marie Rivière&#39;s loneliness proves how noisy yet artificial summer can be. The sunset in the final scene is one of the most bittersweet moments in cinematic history.

The Green Ray (1986, Eric Rohmer)

A gothic boarding school, four teenage boys (all played by female actors!), and the shadow of a suicide... This manga-inspired film turns summer vacation into a ghostly journey into the subconscious. It&#39;s both strange and captivating.

Summer Vacation 1999 (1988, Shusuke Kaneko)

A Tuscan villa, middle-aged Anna hanging out with young people and summer days brimming with jealousy… Hogg&#39;s sardonic style transforms the holiday into something quietly disturbing. Bonus: you might even encounter a young Tom Hiddleston in a tan.

Unrelated (2007, Joanna Hogg)

The Norwegian summer is short, but its melancholy is long. Returning to Oslo for a day, Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) finds his loneliness etched in the soul by the end of summer. This film is a delightful blend of Anders&#39; reunion with friends and family, his return to his old life, and a city tour of Oslo.

Oslo, August 31st (2011, Joachim Trier)

A female academic, her egotistical artist husband, and a stuffy country house in the middle of a New York summer… Collins’ powerful film shows how women can squander summer simply to fit into someone else’s dreams.

Losing Ground (1982, Kathleen Collins)

Jesse and Céline are on summer vacation in Greece after many years. But the third act of their love story is no longer about sweet dreams but about the burdens of life. Summer here isn&#39;t about eternal romance; it&#39;s about a long afternoon that tests the strength of relationships.

Before Midnight (2013, Richard Linklater)

These films remind us that summer isn&#39;t just about sunscreen and the scent of the sea. It&#39;s not just the &quot;hot girl summer&quot; imposed by social media; it&#39;s also about reality. Ultimately, wherever you go, you take yourself with you, and that goes for vacations, too.

10 Movies to Say Goodbye to Summer

Tags

Recommended posts for you

Fashion

Stella McCartney Dresses the Future in Paris

Soul

October Astrology: Finding Calm in Cosmic Turbulence

Fashion

Dior SS26: Jonathan Anderson’s New Era

Ibiza

The Ibiza Prodigy: Amberay’s Human Voice

Fashion

Dior SS26: Jonathan Anderson’s First Women’s Show to Stream Live

Fashion

Courrèges SS26: “Blinded by the Sun”

Fashion

Giorgio Armani SS26: The Maestro’s Latest Show

Fashion

Silvia Venturini Fendi Steps Down as Creative Director