It’s August, which means it’s hot, and if you’re not spending your time in an actual swimming pool, you may want to beat the heat with movies about swimming pools. Luckily, there are some great ones to suggest.
First up, “La Piscine” (1969) also known as “The Swimming Pool,” and the ne plus ultra of pool movies. It all revolves around the cool, blue pool in this steamy, intimate drama directed by Jacques Deray. French superstars Romy Schneider and Alain Delon play a couple whose sexy vacation in the south of France is crashed by her ex (Maurice Ronet) and his daughter (Jane Birkin), and the tension simmers around the backyard pool until it erupts. This dreamy summer drama is not to be missed, so stream it on the Criterion Channel tout de suite.
Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino directed his own take on “La Piscine” with 2015’s “A Bigger Splash,” starring Tilda Swinton and Matthias Schoenaerts as the couple, and Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson as the vacation crashers, this time on the island of Sardinia. The sun-baked vacay vibes are off the charts, and this is the ideal film to serve as inspiration, or stand-in, for your next Euro trip. Rent it on all digital platforms.
