With simplicity and honesty, filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio shows that coming of age initially offers what seems like unsurmountable challenges that can eventually inspire a bit of sentimentality. Samudio mines her own past during four summers she and her sister spent visiting their father. Played by Puerto Rican rapper René Pérez Joglar a.k.a. Resīdɛntə, Dad loves his girls but fights his own problems, among them, alcoholism and a short-fused, violent temper. And of course, teenage girls never make life easy for a parent. Violetta and Eva—played by different actresses during the course of the film— explore sexuality and the usual temptations growing up involves but also face the ramifications of their father’s flaws during an influential period of their lives. Like dad, the siblings love their family, which gives In The Summers a warm, often sweet sensibility even as challenges grow dark. Some edge comes from writer-director Samudio’s low-key approach using existing settings, primarily in bleak but striking New Mexico locations. She mixes lingering longshots and closeups of both people and places, backed by natural sound and minimal music that captures a sense that these kids need more than they receive. Languid and thoughtful, In the Summers offers a slice of life in a promising debut from an up-and-coming
filmmaker. The move won the Grand Jury Prize at 2024’s Sundance Film Festival.
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