There’s something so magical about a film set against the backdrop of a European summer; it’s swept us off our feet. Last Summer, now streaming on Netflix, takes us to Bodrum, Turkey, 1997, where a teen boy experiences all the ups and downs of first love in a short amount of time. Deniz (Fatih Sahin) and his older sister Ebru (Aslihan Malbora) arrive to spend the summer at their family’s cottage by the gorgeous coast. They reunite with old friends, and once Deniz encounters his sister’s BFF Asli (Ece Cesmioglu), he’s done for. He might has well have hearts in his eyes for the rest of the film. The two gently flirt as the summer days go by, Deniz pining for Asli in ways she doesn’t entirely seem to take note of for some time. Together with Deniz’s sister and their group of friends, they have adventures around town, jumping off cliffs into sparkling water, eating figs in the summer sun, dancing their hearts out at clubs. What begins as a sweet infatuation, however, soon turns into toxic jealousy as Deniz realises that Asli may not reciprocate his feelings. The sun-drenched, dreamy setting helps to take us into their world quickly, but the characters are so lackluster that they almost make the viewers lose their interest.

– Compilation