Perhaps inspired by his early years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Berlin School’s Ulrich Köhler drew acclaim for this ambitious, characteristically insightful exploration of the construction of masculinity inside & outside of the family unit. Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director.

Are the sun-dappled, gently realistic dramas of Eric Rohmer and the sinister sexual mind-games of early Polanski really so far apart? An official selection at Cannes and Berlinale, Summer ’04 weaves these two strands into a most unexpected double helix: a seductive summer holiday with an icy center.