Based on what I’ve seen of Nicolas Winding Refn’s restoration project, ByNWR, the focus has been more or less the showcasing of B-movies and amateurish projects that otherwise wouldn’t have seen the light of day. But Joseph L. Anderson’s raw and beautiful Spring Night, Summer Night is the first of the series that actually feels like a significant (re)discovery.
Anderson’s depiction of small town people and their everyday lives not only is achieved with deep honesty but also with enthralling humanism. He cares for his characters and the places their stories are told so much that at times you can almost smell the grass of Ohio’s rustic landscapes. What’s even more fascinating is the use of amateur locals as the main actors. Not a single moment during the film I was led to think I was watching a cheap film with novices playing roles too big for them. Instead they take their characters and make them their own. There are scenes that almost feel cinéma verité-like. No kidding.
I’m rating Spring Night, Summer Night five stars hoping more people will give it a chance. It deserves that and a little recognition for establishing the style of many American Independent films that were to come.
Based on what I’ve seen of Nicolas Winding Refn’s restoration project, ByNWR, the focus has been more or less the showcasing of B-movies and amateurish projects that otherwise wouldn’t have seen the light of day. But Joseph L. Anderson’s raw and beautiful Spring Night, Summer Night is the first of the series that actually feels like a significant (re)discovery.
Anderson’s depiction of small town people and their everyday lives not only is achieved with deep honesty but also with enthralling humanism. He cares for his characters and the places their stories are told so much that at times you can almost smell the grass of Ohio’s rustic landscapes. What’s even more fascinating is the use of amateur locals as the main actors. Not a single moment during the film I was led to think I was watching a cheap film with novices playing roles too big for them. Instead they take their characters and make them their own. There are scenes that almost feel cinéma verité-like. No kidding.
I’m rating Spring Night, Summer Night five stars hoping more people will give it a chance. It deserves that and a little recognition for establishing the style of many American Independent films that were to come.
