In the Summers

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

"In the Summers" won the Grand Jury Prizes for U. S. Dramatic Competition and Directing, Screenwriting and Editing and it is well deserved because Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio does a good job on capturing the themes of father and children's relationship, the personal struggles and the conflicts of flawed but loving parenting could be.

Throughout, the camerawork, style, and the atmosphere feels realistic and nature. The writing is standard as it isn't something that is new or ground-breaking but Samudio's direction was good and her new approach on the family dynamics and fatherhood felt refreshing without having to see the typical family tropes in movies. Many of the performances are really good with all the child actors doing a great job. The performance from Residente was really amazing as he really stands out with his performance.

The dialogue between the characters are interesting and the sense of realism, conflict and charm in the characters were emotionally investing and engaging. The pacing is pretty good, the soundtrack is good and the themes were well-executed. The third act does slightly lose a little of the magical to what the movie is going for.

But overall, it was one of my favorites of this years festival.

My wife hated but I loved it. It's not a feel good everything is perfect and predictable movie. It is a wondow into someone else life. A true story.

It's a real look at the dynamics of siblling during childhood as they compete for parents love and attention.

But it is much more. You see how children become adults without traditional hollywood tools.

The use of the pool was great as well. I don't do spoilers but you will see. It may just be how I see it.

A small part of the movie is in spanish and not captioned, but I think i got what they where saying most of the time.

That you six hundred characters to submit review. I wanted to stop at first paragraph.

"In the Summers" is a film that spans through routine shots and similar environments over the course of multiple years to highlight how a parent's personal struggles can leave lasting impressions on children as they transition through the crucial phases of their developmental years. Instead of leaning on the "bad parent" trope that is often used in a story like this, director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio chooses to portray this father figure in a more relatable light. Though flawed and seemingly stuck in one place, Vicente (played by Residente) shows an equal amount of love and adventurous care for his daughters as he does carelessness and anger. The main conflict of being a loving father vs. Being a good father, and not having the ability to maintain both, is at the forefront of each of these four chapters. There's a sense of reality and decisive empowerment that ultimately shapes the direction of this story leaving audiences with an emotionally reflective moment in the final sequence. The visuals are quaint and the score by Eduardo Cabra is collaborative rather than distractive which keeps this film completely grounded with the distinct message that it wants to share. A strong directorial debut for Samudio and one that'll act as a foundation for more stories to come.

Eve and Violeta are sisters of divorced parents. They spend every summer with their father Vicente (Residente) in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Of course, this is reminiscent of Boyhood except it wasn't filmed over twelve years. This one uses three sets of actresses to depict the sisters in the four time periods. I really appreciate the attempt. There is some authenticity here. It feels like a piece of real life, possibly the life of the writer/director. Problem is that it's missing that cinematic high concept in Boyhood. I would probably use the same actresses to play three consecutive summers and the older actresses for the final summer. After the accident, the intensity flattens out for the last two parts.

I finally got to watch IN THE SUMMERS, the directorial debut of Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio, last night on the Sundance app. This film just won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. It follows two sisters, Violeta and Eva, as they go visit their dad in Las Cruces, New Mexico four times over the course of fifteen-ish years. I was SO IMPRESSED by the acting here, especially the three sets of actors who play the sisters and Residente who plays their father. This is a movie about small moments. I was especially struck by how it demonstrated how complicated people are without lots of expository dialogue. I also loved how queerness was just a part of the film with little commentary. Masculinity is definitely a looming shadow here. I want to see more films like this that represent Latinx folks! And queer Latinx folks! My only big complaint was the Sundance app-lots of sound issues that would force me to stop the film and rewind.