Summer's End

I've seen many movies lately, but this one won my heart. Summer's end brings to you the warmth of a sincere friendship between a man and a young boy, but more than that, it shows this friendship as it's seen by the boy, who is capable of anything to keep this relationship based on trust and love...

I can compare this movie to Mel Gibson's The Man Without a Face, where again we have a great movie about a friendship between a man and a boy, both overcoming all the hate that comes from the people around them.

The initial premise of the film is a little questionable. A single black doctor electing to settle in an all white neighborhood in Georgia is taking things a bit too far. But leaving that aside the acting of James Earl Ray, Brendan Fletcher, Wendy Crewson and Jake LeDoux as the little boy are worth mentioning. The story progresses in the only way it can, with all the requisite clichés that one expects to see in this genre of movie. It is beautifully shot in cozy summer colors designed to bring a warm flutter to mainly female hearts. But the fact remains that this film is just a confection wrapped up in sentimental syrup to make bigotry acceptable to the US viewer. This movie is 11 years old. America now has a black President, but Americans have still not learned anything yet. Time alone will tell whether they ever will. They like to discuss their racism in these beautiful sugar-coated easy-to-digest nuggets. This film left me cold, but after all it's made for TV... American TV. What more can you expect?

Trouble comes in the form of a retired black man, to a small lakeside community. Almost immediately he is confronted by prejudice and hate. Two local brothers then come to terms with their hatred and tolerance over the racial situation. One brother wants to learn more about the man while the other couldn't care less. The movie is narrated by one of the brothers and proudly calls the black man friend. Its interesting to see how two brothers diverge and differ in their feelings even tho they are from the same house. Their mother too has an opinion of her own and in the end the black man is invited to dinner to meet her family and hear what he has to say. Altho the black man decides he can't live in a community that is openly racial, he does decide to give it a chance. Grade C

This movie is the most utmost movie about a black man who becomes friends with this white family. The movie is very well planned out and thought of with a lot of creativity. If i had ten thumbs, i would give him ten thumbs up. This movie shows today how hard it is for black people to make friends with white people. In a way it is still hard but it's starting to progress slowly because there still is a little racism out there somewhere. James Earl Jones needs ten Grammies for this movie along with the cast. Now i have to go out and buy this movie on DVD hopefully if it's on there. I have watched this movie last Sunday it was so good that i thought i wasn't going to be able to go to church. But it went off though so i could go. thank you for letting me post my comment. Have a nice day

Very powerful performances by James Earl Jones and Jake Ledoux elevate this film above the average made-for-TV movie. It's worth watching just to see James Earl Jones' controlled rage on the one hand and his tenderness on the other -- it's amazing to behold. I was also impressed with the acting ability exhibited by Jake Ledoux. I hope he continues his acting career, because he has honesty and an emotional range that many current young actor "stars" should envy.