A Summer Story

This short film can be watched here: A Summer Story (2024) Letterboxd is a movie community that supports all facets of movie watching. One of the more cool experiences is when a Letterboxd friend becomes one of the contributing film makers. We movie watchers get to watch and critique films from aspiring filmmakers--some of whom will be important participants in the future of film. We get to view the works of new filmmakers as they experiment with the elements of filmmaking and hone their craft. Such is the case with the short film, A Summer Story, and young filmmaker Jagger Nelson. He has made a film that is engaging and compelling. A Summer Story explores isolation and finding oneself against a backdrop of a beach home in the Summer. The film has a nice setup with a good use of montage and shot edited together to set the scene. The story is well planned, perhaps was even storyboarded. The story, itself, is a slice of life story. I'd like to see it expanded and see the real psyche of the character further explored. There were moments, but not really a full story or even visible character growth. The technical elements of the film were solid--especially for a novice filmmaker. I am sure that Jagger would benefit from $50,000 cameras, professional editing equipment, and a full crew, but the cuts and the shot setups show much promise. I applaud the work and look forward to future film projects. Rating a film like this is difficult. Do I compare it to the full cannon of short films? Against David Lynch, Victoria Vincent, Wes Anderson, and Yorgos Lanthimos? (if I did it would about a 2 star--better than some of the David Lynch shorts, but still a novice work) Or do I rate it compared to its contemporaries? Other films from aspiring but still novice filmmakers? (If this is my criteria, it is better than most--4 stars). I'll go in the middle. Like Short Films? Click Here to Check Out My Friendwatch Project: Short Films. Watch a few (they are short), I’d love to see what you think!!