Thank God I was looking through Sasha Calle's filmography and decided to watch this.
I can tell you right away this will probably be a little longer, I have never taken as many notes on any movie ever, let alone a ≈90minutes one.
This movie hit really hard, I am a child of divorce, and it's crazy to me how accurately this depicts what's happening, but more precisely the internal development. It was really relatable, although many things of course weren't 1/1, they were in their meaning definitely the same.
In the Summers is about Vicente, a divorced husband, whose 2 daughters, Eva & Violeta, come to visit him in the summer–We see 4 different summers, and overall how the daughters grow up, their experiences with their dad and most importantly their emotional processing.
Violeta is at first very distant towards her dad, she is very closed and even rebellious. She doesn't want anything to get to her, as if she's trying to avoid her dad's attempts of making up for his absence.
Eva - on the other hand, yearns for Vicente's approval & validation. That's also due to her often being degraded to just her looks and thus she wants to prove herself. In a way, Violeta is treated equally but responds completely different. This also shows how differently the sisters handle their experiences-maybe depending on their age.
Vicente is a very complex but yet so simple character. In the beginning, it's easy to feel empathy for him & understand him but then he fucks it up, you could say a slip up but a really bad one – this goes back and forth many times. You don't know what is right, Vicente is trapped in his limited loop of trying to make up for the past whilst not learning from it, eventually repeating it. It's a downward development for him as a person—which precisely describes the scenario of a divorced husband/wife.
Throughout the entire film, there is a very loud quietness, that gives every scene a melancholic touch. Also a feeling that can't let you enjoy the fun on screen. I think that's brilliant, because it sums up perfectly how it feels for the kids (probably for the dad too). No matter how much fun it is, that feeling doesn't go away.
The plot starts taking its biggest step, when in the 3rd summer -* 1. Violeta doesn't come
2. Vicente a new partner found and another kid has*
These events build the ground for a lot of "development".
Noticeable, Vicente's new partner makes him lose the touch to his own kids. You can feel that it's bad for him, but it definitely is cope & grief after the accident in the 2nd summer, which he knows, he fucked up again.
Eva, now without her sister, has a more awkward demeanor. But nothing has changed, she still lacks the validation of her dad. So she wants to play pool with him, for "old times' sake" ‐ she has practiced back in L.A. at home, in order to impress her dad. But not in the slightest does that work, Vicente is in no mood for pool, he looks rather insulted by her skills and proves again how his new partner stands in the way of the bond to his daughter. Subliminally, it also creates the feeling that he loves Violeta more than Eva.
In the 4th and last summer, Eva & Violeta are now fully grown. Being also more mature, meant for Eva distancing herself from her father more. You can see that she's messed up and the absence of her dad definetly had a huge impact on her. Since the sisters no longer depend on anyone, they start standing up for themselves and are ready to leave their dad behind in their lifes. Which, ironically makes you feel bad for Vicente, because NOW he is all of a sudden trying. It creates a dilemma for the average viewer, of course this doesn't excuse the past but he is trying, should they give him another chance? Nevertheless, for Vicente's character it means that even bettering himself can't heal the open wounds he has created. And in all of these moments were he is attempting to get closer to his daughters, the quietness gets louder and louder and practically eats you from the inside.
Vicente understands it (in a way), he knows his misbehaviour, but now he is expecting easement from his daughters–well they have had it. They won't get sucked into his forth & back pulling or being dependent on him, they want to move on.
This quietness that grew throughout the entire movie, hits the hardest at the end - such an emotional way to end the wild realistic path of the 3. **The goodbye is easy for none...
**
Apart from my long yap, I have some extra points:
The cinematography is wonderful and the colours look greatly enhanced.
I really liked the performance of the different cast members for the different summers. Sasha Calle, Allison Salinas & Residente stood out the most for me.
Sadly, the sisterhood came too short, and only really started to show in the 4th summer, before there were some small moments but nothing really of significance.
Lastly, I don't understand why the explicit scenes were needed, could have easily just left them out.
4 stars + like
Really emotional film for me
Thank God I was looking through Sasha Calle's filmography and decided to watch this.
I can tell you right away this will probably be a little longer, I have never taken as many notes on any movie ever, let alone a ≈90minutes one.
This movie hit really hard, I am a child of divorce, and it's crazy to me how accurately this depicts what's happening, but more precisely the internal development. It was really relatable, although many things of course weren't 1/1, they were in their meaning definitely the same.
In the Summers is about Vicente, a divorced husband, whose 2 daughters, Eva & Violeta, come to visit him in the summer–We see 4 different summers, and overall how the daughters grow up, their experiences with their dad and most importantly their emotional processing.
Violeta is at first very distant towards her dad, she is very closed and even rebellious. She doesn't want anything to get to her, as if she's trying to avoid her dad's attempts of making up for his absence.
Eva - on the other hand, yearns for Vicente's approval & validation. That's also due to her often being degraded to just her looks and thus she wants to prove herself. In a way, Violeta is treated equally but responds completely different. This also shows how differently the sisters handle their experiences-maybe depending on their age.
Vicente is a very complex but yet so simple character. In the beginning, it's easy to feel empathy for him & understand him but then he fucks it up, you could say a slip up but a really bad one – this goes back and forth many times. You don't know what is right, Vicente is trapped in his limited loop of trying to make up for the past whilst not learning from it, eventually repeating it. It's a downward development for him as a person—which precisely describes the scenario of a divorced husband/wife.
Throughout the entire film, there is a very loud quietness, that gives every scene a melancholic touch. Also a feeling that can't let you enjoy the fun on screen. I think that's brilliant, because it sums up perfectly how it feels for the kids (probably for the dad too). No matter how much fun it is, that feeling doesn't go away.
The plot starts taking its biggest step, when in the 3rd summer -* 1. Violeta doesn't come
2. Vicente a new partner found and another kid has*
These events build the ground for a lot of "development".
Noticeable, Vicente's new partner makes him lose the touch to his own kids. You can feel that it's bad for him, but it definitely is cope & grief after the accident in the 2nd summer, which he knows, he fucked up again.
Eva, now without her sister, has a more awkward demeanor. But nothing has changed, she still lacks the validation of her dad. So she wants to play pool with him, for "old times' sake" ‐ she has practiced back in L.A. at home, in order to impress her dad. But not in the slightest does that work, Vicente is in no mood for pool, he looks rather insulted by her skills and proves again how his new partner stands in the way of the bond to his daughter. Subliminally, it also creates the feeling that he loves Violeta more than Eva.
In the 4th and last summer, Eva & Violeta are now fully grown. Being also more mature, meant for Eva distancing herself from her father more. You can see that she's messed up and the absence of her dad definetly had a huge impact on her. Since the sisters no longer depend on anyone, they start standing up for themselves and are ready to leave their dad behind in their lifes. Which, ironically makes you feel bad for Vicente, because NOW he is all of a sudden trying. It creates a dilemma for the average viewer, of course this doesn't excuse the past but he is trying, should they give him another chance? Nevertheless, for Vicente's character it means that even bettering himself can't heal the open wounds he has created. And in all of these moments were he is attempting to get closer to his daughters, the quietness gets louder and louder and practically eats you from the inside.
Vicente understands it (in a way), he knows his misbehaviour, but now he is expecting easement from his daughters–well they have had it. They won't get sucked into his forth & back pulling or being dependent on him, they want to move on.
This quietness that grew throughout the entire movie, hits the hardest at the end - such an emotional way to end the wild realistic path of the 3. **The goodbye is easy for none...
**
Apart from my long yap, I have some extra points:
The cinematography is wonderful and the colours look greatly enhanced.
I really liked the performance of the different cast members for the different summers. Sasha Calle, Allison Salinas & Residente stood out the most for me.
Sadly, the sisterhood came too short, and only really started to show in the 4th summer, before there were some small moments but nothing really of significance.
Lastly, I don't understand why the explicit scenes were needed, could have easily just left them out.
4 stars + like
Really emotional film for me
