Right before Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s Sundance darling begins, a title card lets viewers know the portions in Spanish were intentionally left without subtitles. This was done so viewers would be less focused on parsing individual words for meaning, but could instead appreciate the performances of the actors and the emotions they evoked, both containing far greater meaning than a word could hope to. Those of us who speak Spanish obviously had a different viewing experience, but I do think this notion of language and communication, how what’s most important is often left unsaid, is at the heart of this film. Built around four summers Ava and Violeta spend with their father, Vicente, it’s less a coming-of-age narrative than it is an excavation of family history, processing everything that led to who we are in the present day.
Lacorazza supposedly drew from her childhood visiting her father in Columbia during the summers, and I think the tenderness that comes from such personal source material really comes through onscreen. There’s a patience to the pacing of this movie that really works. Where most films in this vein would rely on explosive arguments or gushy monologues, this movie felt most powerful in the quiet, soft moments we all experience every day. As a young Ava watches Vicente shave his head, or Violeta learns how to make eggs, we get so much warmth and tenderness in the interactions that it’s hard to not become emotionally invested. There are arguments, but they feel well-earned and do a lot to develop the relationships of these people without becoming the center of the entire movie. Some might argue the film being structured in four different chapters, with significant time jumps, creates a distance that makes it hard to connect with this family, but I think this willingness to hang in certain moments keeps us grounded.
The consistency in both the characters’ developing relationship dynamics as well as the setting allows for viewers to be more open to the narrative gaps that come with time jumps. I’ve seen some argue that the film could have been more successful by addressing Vicente’s drug and alcohol problem directly, but that already feels like such a central part of the film, and I think trying to tie up such a complex issue—especially when considering how those issues impacted his children—within a 95-minute runtime is beyond the scope of this movie. The lack of resolution, and the continued tenderness between a father and his daughters, feels real and human, and to me that’s what art is all about. If anything, I wish the narrative focused a little less on these issues, because it somewhat flattens Vicente’s character.
Throughout the film, we get a great sense of who Ava and Violeta are outside their role as ‘daughter.’ They have crushes and tell jokes, they experiment with substances and meet friends. I don’t think this kind of well-roundedness was offered to Vicente’s character, which is a shame given the lack of fleshed-out roles for Latino men in media. We understand why he gets progressively more negligent as his addictions deepen, but I’d have liked for that to have been peeled back just a bit so we can see him struggling with the choice between a night out and his two daughters, or get a better understanding of why he’s engaging in this behavior. When we see Ava or Violeta having reckless sex or abusing drugs and alcohol, we understand why. I don’t think Vicente’s character has that kind of developmental clarity. Towards the end, when he gives his best attempt at an apology, we can start to see that depth emerging, but the film ends shortly after that, so it’s hard to say the movie really engages with him on an in-depth level. Instead of showing him change or showing the characters reach a point of mutual understanding, Lacorazza uses a tragedy as a turning point, which feels like a way of avoiding exploring these themes more effectively.
Regardless of what the script offers him, Puerto Rican rapper Residente knocks this role out of the park. He’s always so grounded, and his character is so embodied it never feels like he’s actually acting. For this being his feature debut, I’m very impressed at just how committed and composed he is at all times. The same can be said about the supporting cast, especially the younger actresses who play the child versions of Ava and Violeta. These young professionals can capture so much just by slightly shifting their gazes, it’s astounding. While the dialogue is spare, it allows for the acting to take centerstage, relying on the fantastic physical performances of each character. And it’s all shot beautifully.
I appreciate how DP Alejandro Mejía altered the lighting with each changing year, bringing a warm amber tone to the childhood sequences before ultimately ending with the cold, harsh light of adulthood. There’s also a matter of how still he keeps the camera, again letting the actors’ performances speak for themselves while also creating a very contemplative viewing experience. When the camera does move, it does so for a good reason, keeping us locked into a particular character’s perspective at all times, which makes us feel closer to them. This is guided by some wonderful soundscapes composed by Eduardo Cabra that do a great job of not overtaking the visuals but instead helping us connect to them more deeply.
For this being Lacorazza’s feature debut, it’s an incredible movie. I can see why Sundance chose it to win both the Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Award for Directing, Screenwriting and Editing. As a film, it doesn’t offer any answers, or even healing, but there’s something very poignant about that. None of us can control our childhoods, but we can control how we process and unpack the emotions those memories bring. Like the characters in this film, we can move forward. In the Summers is now in theaters. It’s a poetic, beautiful rendering of imperfect fathers and imperfect daughters, and I really hope you watch it while you can.
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