Review of Summertime (1955) by Kisaan T — 30 Jun 2012

Summertime has that Lean factor which we get to notice in his later color films. But it becomes slightly shaky when it comes to shows us it's main purpose i.e. Love. Which is why, it may even feel like you've been subjected to the incomplete extension of Love, and not the Love itself.

Everything starts perfectly fine and perfectly spectacular, when the film starts. Katherine Hepburn appears to be a tensed at inside but jolly pretentious cheerful woman, or spinster, who arrives Venice for a trip.

It sends a charm to you, when seeing this beautifully crafted prologue. the city of Venice is also pictured in Lean's fascinating unique way. Rossano Brazzi suits as a mature, gentle lover. The chemistry between Hepburn and him develops very naturally, but as I said earlier, the film begins to loose its grip when the Love moments begin to start between the protagonists, and feels repeatative.

This may happen because Lean has always been away from Lust when it comes to explaining Love, but still the emotion of Love could have been justified more deeply, without using and showing Lust and Sex.

This is also the reason, why the film becomes predictable unlike Lean's other films, where characters' emotions and themes of films change more, at times in his huge duration of films. Despite of these, Summertime lives you with a tint of one thing.

That thing is the character. I haven't heard or read about the play (from which the film was adapted) but I think as far as film is concerned, it appears to be based on Hepburn's character and Love being the second subject.

So it is not that, the film is not watchable due to the flaws that I described above. If you're willing to see a soft-sweet and brief experience of clean romance, together with few beautiful visuals of Venice, you'll like to watch this film.