Summer Rain

A nostalgic coming-of-age tale charting a group of friends on vacation at the end of the 1970s, including friendship, sex, love, adventures and misfortunes. Miguelito Dávila (Alberto Amarilla) is a young man from Málaga who has just had a kidney removed, which forces him to spend a long time in the hospital. There he meets a cultured man who introduces him to poetry and makes him reconsider leaving his job in a small hardware store to be a poet. Once he leaves the hospital, Miguelito begins the transition from innocence to adult life, embarking on the journey with his friends: Paco Frontón (Félix Gómez) who falls in love for La Cuerpo (Marta Nieto) and the violent Babirusa (Raúl Arévalo). Including some events that will prove crucial in his life with experiences that will reach the limit . Miguelito begins a relationship with Luli (María Ruiz), a beautiful girl whom he deeply loves and in which an older man, Cardona (Antonio Garrido) is interested, and he also starts a relationship with a teacher (Victoria Abril). Following the right path only depends on him.

A coming-of-age story depicting lives of a group of teens, who during the summer experience with mutual camaraderie, the first loves, lusts, obsession, sex, comradeship and violence. Adaptation of the same name from the novel by Málaga writer Antonio Soler, who also wrote the script for the second film directed by actor Banderas, his first was ¨Crazy in Alabama´. But while ¨Crazy in Alabama¨, starring his then wife Melanie Griffith, was a decent film, this ¨El camino de los ingleses¨ result to be mediocre and uneven, including ridiculous situations and a pretty bad filming.

The film was nominated for two Goya awards: best new actor (Alberto Amarilla) and best adapted script (Antonio Soler) and won the Label Europa Cinemas award at the Cine Festival in Berlin.

Among its protagonists appear the youngsters: Alberto Amarilla (Princesas, Mar adentro), Raul Arevalo (La isla mínima), Félix Gómez (Carlos rey emperador) , María Ruiz (Paquirri) and Marta Nieto (Madre). Completing the casting, veterans as Victoria Abril (Tirant Le Blanc), Cuca Escribano (Mapa de la geografia humana), Antonio Garrido (Zona Hostil) and Juan Diego (Vete de mi).

In ¨El camino de los ingleses¨ excels the colorful cinematography by Xavi Giménez and the second unit director of photography was made by another prestigious cameraman, Oscar Faura. As well as the sensitive and attractive musical score by Antonio Meliveo, including catching songs. The motion picture was averagely directed by Antonio Banderas and I think that it includes some autobiographical elements from his native Malaga. Rating: 4.5/10. A so-so film that turns out to be a little tiring and boring.

i was thinking that maybe Antonio Banderas has spent a career in commercial movies to be able later on to develop his own projects. who knows maybe it's like this. yes, this movie was not made by an fine director, the pace is uneven, there are a lot of scene that could have been removed improving, not hurting , the movie. but the movie is not entirely pointless, it seems to have a sincere desire to say something to the viewer, especially with a very well mixed balance of music and images, those seem to be the most powerful moments of the movies. the plot , the story is to a certain degree irrelevant , this is a movie of powerful images, of details, of obsessions. The love scenes are a very small part of the movie, yet they are incredible details, nearly as in a soft porn movie, but this is not a limitation of this movie, but one of features. the bodies of the characters are explained in details, a flat stomach, a leg, a hand, a scar , eyes, aging hands. the movie is poetry and as poetry it refuses to be confined in the structures of novel, this is a movie of images and music, it's like the work of an Impressionist painter, maybe there are autobiographical elements, let's not forget that AB was born in Malaga in 1960, so he more or less would have been the age of the characters at the same time. All in all it's a good movie and it was worth watching it, I hope who reads this has enjoyed it already or will in the future.

This movie tells the story of a group of young friends facing the end of their teen years during a fateful summer.Although it is a Spanish film set in the seventies, the topics and the way they are portrayed make it a whole universal experience (I am Spanish but I can't recall any localism of notice). You can tell that this movie has been made with all guts, heart and soul, or passion if you like, it sparkles all over the frame.The suffering and pain of teen years (and the joy of friendship, love and sex) are portrayed in a very poetical way.Both visual and acoustic poetry (the movie is narrated by the character "el garganta" as if reciting a somewhat complex yet beautiful poem). I've got only good things to say about this second directorial effort of Mr Banderas; lush cinematography, good music, nice pacing, and an ensemble cast whose performances shine like gold. This film is a true joy to your senses, brain and soul.

the music. the inspired delicacy to give honest, direct portrait of an unique age. poetry of a summer holiday of few teenagers. words, temptations, desires, gestures. and a surprising director who does more than a good adaptation but a touching message about the fragility of small things who become support of the next ages. this is the most important detail of this modest film. a film about ordinary aspects of the lives of teenagers. it is not a great film. only useful. for remind. for explore. for propose a way to self definition. characters. and the air of summer. and the dreams. and need to escape from a too small universe. from yourself. so, see it !

The beginning was interesting and promising. Dreamy and surreal. Great. BUT as the story progressed, it became an endless free fall. The use of voice over is too extensive (Somebody should teach Mr. Banderas about the value of silence. Not everything has to be blatantly explained) and tiring (even corny sometimes) and the script is simply ridiculous. It pretends to be intense and dramatic but it goes overboard towards the end, stripping it off of any dramatic feeling. It's laughable when it's supposed to be sad and it's unbelievable when it's supposed to be serious. Too bad for the actors, who deliver a good performance, in spite of such awful script. The photography is well done. But these two factors alone won't add up to a decent movie. That's why I rate it 1-awful.