Last Summer

This is an overly cinematic movie with very little dialogue. I've seen other reviews describe it as a visual poem and they might be right but i guess it just wasn't for me. I can see someone who has gone through the experience of having to let go of a lover because they're going to different places enjoy this or maybe someone who really likes small details and beautiful shots.

What I do wanna highlight is the nature of their relationship. It is very peculiar in that words aren't really needed most of the time. Maybe it is because of all the time they've been together but they seem to understand each other and just enjoy each other's company. There's a lot of intimacy but I wouldn't say it's overly romantic.

Overall if you're looking for a slow artistic movie with a lot of focus on details and nature this one might be for you but if you're looking for a movie with drama and/or a more developed storyline I wouldn't really recommend this one.

Two life-long friends and lovers face their first parting when one heads off to college. That's it. Period. And we really only know that because that's what we're told. If that hadn't been spelled out for us at the beginning of the movie, we'd have no idea what was going on.

Both boys seem unrealistically pragmatic about spending one last summer together. What most kids in this situation would consider traumatic doesn't seem to phase these two. Maybe knowing each other since third grade has left them with nothing more to say. Because they don't say much, and what they do say is curiously devoid of emotional content.

So it leaves you feeling a little hollow, even though the overall artiness more or less demands that we value the content of this film. It's like, "this is art, dammit, and you WILL appreciate it!"

Well, I do and I don't. Much of the photography IS striking, but what we see mostly are scenes that might as well be stills, and most of those are in close up. The actors are so immobile I couldn't help feeling they were trying to help the DP keep the shot in focus.

I didn't hate this, but I can't say I enjoyed it. It's pretty, the boys are pretty, and, mercifully, it's only 66 minutes long, so, you know, why complain?

Well, because it doesn't add up to much.

I felt like there were two different films going on here; one subplot was the relationship between the two graduating kids, enjoying what may be their last summer together, while mapping out what might also be their futures. Lots of discussion of jonah going off to school, while that may or may not be in the cards for luke. Sweet. Cute. Minimal dialog. You can really feel the love and appreciation they have for each other. One sad moment is when jonah says "i wish you'd ask me to stay"... luke says "no, can't do it." we know why he can't, but it would have been romantic to explain why he couldn't. Or was it too obvious ? Maybe. I do respect when writers and directors give the viewer credit for understanding things. I was surprised luke didn't take that moment to explain himself. Oh, the second subplot? The long, drawn out scenes of nature, background, forests, colors, light shading. That should have been a short film (documentary ?) all by itself. I found myself fast forwarding through the long scenes where not only is there no dialog, but it's a long time before we even see a character in the film again. Written and directed by mark thiedeman. Mixed feelings on this one. I enjoyed watching the scenes with the two guys, but didn't dig the long, drawn out bumpers between the scenes. Or maybe i just have a short attention span.

Gotta admit that I see the point of reviewers who gave this a 1...and the ones who gave it a 10.

"Glacial" is a generous description for the pace of this movie. Lots of lonnnnng, "artistic" shots of leaves, raindrops, and random body parts. Probably only 10 minutes worth of actual dialogue in total.

So...you might look at this as a tedious, pointless, dragging piece of film in which literally nothing happens. Or you'll look at it as a brilliant, high-concept, beautifully-shot artistic masterpiece.

Either way, at least both of the leads are gorgeous and appear to have good chemistry.

Last Summer is about two teenage boys, Luke and Jonah, during the summer after their last year of high school in a small town in Arkansas. They have been best friends since they were toddlers and lovers for an unspecified amount of time - presumably since puberty made it possible. Their families and everybody they know knows about and supports their relationship.

Jonah is a gifted student, artist and musician, while Luke isn't good at anything except sports, so they complement and help each other. They will be parting for the first time in their lives at the end of the summer, when Jonah goes north for college and Luke stays.

This is a blissful, idyllic fantasy that feels completely true. If I didn't know that boys like these would NEVER receive such support in such a town (they even sit together in church), I would believe it was a true story, even a documentary. Although rationally I know it's impossible, it's so real and true emotionally that what ends up being impossible is NOT believing in it.

Nothing much happens in this movie. There's some voice-over narration and some dialog, but it's primarily a sensual movie, a series of exquisitely beautiful visual and aural images that are impossible to describe adequately. Images of nature, of the boys in extreme closeup, many abstract images that are unidentifiable but powerfully evocative of the quiet, sensual, languid world in which the boys live. The score - when there is a score - is lyrical piano music by Beethoven and Schumann.

Last Summer is like a poem - about love, about beauty, about peace, about perfect harmony with the natural world. It's extraordinary and indescribable.

I never recommend that straight people watch gay movies, because if a gay movie is acceptable to straights it's by definition a failure. But this movie is so beautiful that I'm breaking that rule. Whoever you are, your life will be enriched if you see it.