6 Movies That Evoke The Late-Summer Salt Air Of Taylor Swift’s ‘August’

Don’t let August slip away into a moment in time, like Taylor Swift!

Summer is meant to be experienced via all five senses (and if you have ESPN, six). It’s a time of hope, promise, carefree abandon, and, in some cases, romance. It’s all freedom, firsts, and late-night adventures, and more of a state of mind than an actual season. We can thank our idyllic 10 month “working years” back in school for that connotation. Still, summer manages to whip our hormones into a frenzy even now, even as we grow up and gain homes, jobs, and children of our own. With that in mind, here are six movies that will instantly transport you to that dreamy state of balmy escape and fleeting passion that only summer can evoke. This way, you can feel like you’re on summer vacation even when “adulthood” won’t let you have the real thing.

Booksmart (2019)

Booksmart is like a sexier, less bro-ey version of Superbad. That’s no knock against Superbad, its inspiration, which still holds up in certain ways today; but Booksmart sometimes feels sharper, thanks to its inclusive jokes and fresh female perspective. That said, Booksmart is still very much a sex comedy set on the eve of high school graduation, which means you can expect puerile virginity jokes and poignant moments of growth alongside all of the nostalgia that this summer-set teen comedy conveys.

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Few movies are as inextricable from summer as Mamma Mia! In fact, the fictional island, Kalokairi, where the movie takes place, is literally the Greek word for “summer.” It’s almost as if the creators had wanted to make a movie that transports you to summer at all times of the year! That’s certainly how Mamma Mia feels, given its dazzling location in the Aegean Sea and plethora of whitewashed vacation villas. 

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Speaking of European vacations, Call Me By Your Name similarly uses a Mediterranean setting to conjure a constant state of liberation that is unique to summer vacation. Bare feet, sunburns, tank tops, bike rides past olive trees … All of these images summon a dreamy state amplified by the blinding passions of Elio and Oliver, intertwined like grape vines in a seasonal burst of prosperity.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

If you really want to feel like you’re a kid again, sans responsibilities, sans parents, beholden only to empty fields and ice cream trucks, then opt for Moonrise Kingdom, a typically twee venture from Wes Anderson. This fairy tale of two twelve-year-olds who escape their small town (in a fit of preadolescent passion) is the epitome of fantastical quirkiness. It’s sweet yet serious, contained yet epic, and tender yet theatrical. It’s also an ode to youthful rebellion that will make you long for a summer escape of your own.

Adventureland (2009)

Working at a rusty amusement park doesn’t exactly scream “summer fun,” but this movie’s protagonist James (Jesse Eisenberg) does exactly that. Deprived of his planned European vacation, James, a recent college graduate, is forced to work a summer job at Adventureland, a rundown Pittsburgh theme park and visual metaphor for young adulthood. Stuck in a mental and physical limbo between adolescence and grown-ass mandom, James realizes that summer isn’t always about sunset romps through wheat fields and yacht trips to Croatia. It’s also about growth, self discovery, and a perfectly modulated ‘80s soundtrack.

Do the Right Thing (1989)

As Adventureland proves, summer is as much about change as it is about discovery. That same theme surfaces in Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee’s timeless masterpiece that spans one muggy, stifling day in Brooklyn in the late 1980s. As Do the Right Thing crescendoes from jovial if agitated banter to downright explosive conflict, it reveals itself to be a treatise on inequality and historical injustice. Of course, the majority of Brooklyn in 2025 looks nothing like the bureau did when this movie was shot, but Do the Right Thing still says something universal about societal change. Even in the brightest of summers, truth and justice will come to light. The ice cream will have to melt and the tempers will have to rise, but it will all be worth it once the winds of change cool us down.