L'estate addosso

Marco and Maria are school mates from Italy, and vacation with a gay couple in San Francisco. Fun, cute, entertaining. Good quality editing, directing. good acting. Fun story line, treating gay couple with respect. They DO toy with the audience for quite a while to see if Marco or Maria will try the "gay life", since they make a big point of showing us how inexperienced they both are. If the gay guys live on the edge of Alamo Square, and own a SAILBOAT, the real estate agent must be selling a lot of million dollar homes! and one wants to quit his job. very understanding hubby. and what the ##$$ happened to the friend in Palo Alto who found them a place to stay? we never see him again after the first two minutes... did he croak when filming started? you'd think after flying to Amurrica, Marco and Maria would make the effort to go visit him. and who flies to Cuba for a day or two? I guess if you have the dough... Okay.. in spite of this, its cute and fun, and the whole point seems to be "enjoy you're summer vacation, whether or not it ends up going where you think it's going to go". Some missed connections. some lessons learned. Also called "L'estate Addosso". Good work from director Gabriele Muccino; he's been making films for 20 years now. Showing on netflix. Highly recommended!

There doesn't seem to be much interest in this film, perhaps the dreaded 'G' word kept people away. For the most part, the four friends live together temporarily without too much drama, but the interaction between the two gay guys, the straight laced virginal girl and the straight boy seems a little too tidy. I couldn't help wonder what gays made of this movie, with one of the two partners tempted by the female and the other lusting over the straight boy. A nicely developed friendship between the four with a melancholy ending.

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed it even if I knew, I sensed that I was told the story as if I was a child. a very young child who needed repetitions for clarity. The characters talk and explain themselves with a writer's tone. None of it makes any real sense and yet I stayed with it, mainly because I was intrigued by Brando Pacitto as a character and as an actor and I was totally enchanted by Joseph Haro. They create a vibe that was contagious even if remains at the periphery of something. I haven't been able to get into Gabriele Muccino's world yet. His preppy characters are as far from a mystery as anything I've ever seen and the dialogue is pure TV but I have to admit I'm glad I saw it.

From the opening scenes to the very end - I enjoyed every minute of this film. It gives one a warm fuzzy feeling. Beautifully shot, great sets, cool wardrobe. I wish I could be a part of features like this. Stories like these need to be told. I particularly enjoyed the coming out stories and the way the guys felt the first time they touched and kissed. Coming out is liberating and should be celebrated. Well done to the entire cast and crew - please make more films like these!

When watching certain feature films, and they are quite rare, we would dream of being in the place of the protagonists or better, with them. Experience what they experience, share their moments and be an integral part of their human adventure.

Above all, these are films that are part of reality, made of stolen moments, films that sketch life and allow us to escape from it. "Summertime" is clearly one of them.

At the end of the screening, we have the pleasant feeling of having spent a vacation with the characters, of having lived for the duration of a film a month of weightless moments and that time has stopped for a fraction of second so that we can experience a sweet dream. When the lights come back on we want it to continue and we find ourselves face to face with reality, accompanied by a slight feeling of nostalgia which makes us feel blue. Like the day after a nice party of sorts!

Here, the production is Italian but the film is largely set in the United States, this film allowing the filmmaker a bridge between the two countries.

We are not really in an overly sweet sentimental bluette but rather in the accurate chronicle of a summer like no other.

The film moves at breakneck speed and you'll be left wanting more.

The camera in "Muccino" knows how to be aerial, far from flatly filmed romantic fictions.

A quartet to which we really get attached, trying to guess what will happen between them and with what combination. But we appreciate that it all remains realistic and down to earth, just a magical period, an enchanted interlude for four people who will get to know each other and learn to love each other. We also like that the conclusion is more bitter than expected but ultimately much more insightful than usual.

The actors are astonishingly natural and in perfect symbiosis. It may not be a masterpiece but certainly a sweet and refreshing film.

A true bubble of happiness just waiting to be consumed.