Summertime (1955)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Awesome Movie

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Watching Summertime kind of feels like going on a holiday, it just has that summer like feel to it which is hard to describe. The film doesn't have the epic scope of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia or Doctor Zhivago yet it still has that same epic feel. I've never been to Venice but with the European cities I have been to, you know that they feel like time capsules. Summertime also feels like a documentary that could have been filmed in subsequent decades (whenever 1950's fashion isn't apparent on screen) adding to the timeless aspect of the film. I often say it but the world itself is the greatest movie set of them all. Just as impressive is the sound design. The ambient noise of footsteps, dogs barking, birds singing or music in the faint background; Summertime is a good movie to have playing the in the background to create atmosphere in your own house. I am however disappointed to report however the UK DVD release of Summertime from Second Sight is pan & scan only, shame on you!Katharine Hepburn plays a tourist who exhibits a number of stereotypical tourist habits including the need to record everything she sees, I guess that's not such an annoying modern trait (all that is missing are the selfies). At least though she is an independent spinster who wants to see the authentic side of another country and not the phony stuff in comparison to the couples she meets who fall for the tourist traps and guided tours. This is one of the aspects of Summertime which I can relate to as the older I get I have less patience for organised group trips abroad and just want to go off for an adventure at my own will. That and the romantic fantasy of going to an exotic place by yourself in search of love. At its heart Summertime is a deeply tragic film once we discover just how lonely Katharine Hepburn's character is as she tries to mask her emotion and not feel awkward when conversing with married couples. We know little of this character's background and why she is going on holiday on your own? David Lean may be known for his epic visuals, but the man can create an incredibly emotional story (I still say the ending of Brief Encounter is one of the most powerful film moments I've ever witnessed). Summertime draws a number of parallels to Brief Encounter and of course the movie ends with the two being separated at a train station as he rushes to get their before the train leaves. It's a cliché ending used for decades but for good reason I believe.

"Summertime" is one of the best films of the 1950s when it comes to its cinematography. The film is simply gorgeous and it creates an amazingly romanticized view of Venice. The colors, camera-work and setting all work together to create a real work of art. So, in this sense, it is a great film. It also creates a very romantic world with its actors (Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi) and the lovely music. Again, all what you'd like for a great film. However, the film suffers when it comes to the story--and I seem to be in the distinct minority on this one after I read through the reviews.Hepburn is well-cast as a spinster American who has come to Venice. She has romantic visions in her mind but she also turns out to be very, very lonely. After all, what joy is there in this city if you have no one with which to share it? However, she meets a very handsome man (Brazzi--who is perhaps too handsome for the part to be believable) and he eventually sweeps her off her feet and they have a very brief encounter (some pun intended). The problem is that he's already married--and this is the huge problem I have with the film. In "Summertime" you are expected to care about the characters and empathize with them. But, in real life, if you were the wife or knew the folks, would you be so quick to see this affair as something good? Sure, Brazzi SAYS he and his wife live apart, but I assume most cheaters use this or some similar excuse to justify their behaviors. The bottom line is that the film looks great, is magnificently directed by David Lean and is about a couple selfish jerks! I just cannot get past that. I also cannot get past Criterion's decision to have no captions on the DVD--that I cannot understand (especially since my daughter is deaf and I am a bit hard of hearing).

Hepburn truly shines as the strong-minded, yet stunningly gorgeous and deeply vulnerable middle-class Secretary Jane Hudson in what has been the long-awaited holiday of a lifetime. Hepburn in her sixth Oscar-nominated performance as the strong-minding and "independent" Ms Hudson finally learns why so many have fallen in love in - and with – the most romantic city in the world. Shot and recorded in beautiful Venice, this picture serves more than just a tender love story, it serves as a message for the immense possibilities and pleasures of a journey given that we work hard for it.It was a joy to see Hepburn's talents turn to romantic comedies than the usual unapproachable, cold and stern women we have seen in the pictures like Morning Glory (1933) and The Philadelphia Story (1941). Hepburn's cheeky catching on of the Italian language adds to what really is this special little picture – a touch of class and innocent love in a completely different world.In what appears to be the holiday break from hell, Hepburn's character befriends a charming homeless Italian boy who takes her across Venice to all the sites she wants to see before meeting and falling in love with the equally-as-charming and the terribly handsome Mr de Rossi. de Rossi appears to inject a different side that we typically see the great Katherine Hepburn; an innocent and free-spirited woman who simply just wants to live the memories in what is and has been a terrific holiday. The premise that the two can never be mirrors the impossibilities that were simply impractical given the time of filming, and what we should do now as modern audiences is to relinquish these beliefs and open our minds to a love that can happen between anyone – regardless of color, nationality or anything else.As the credits came in, I thought: "What was actually the climax of this film?" Is the climax when she learns of Mr de Rossi's secret life or the fact that she really has loved Venice? Or is it the train separating them further as de Rossi waves goodbye his American sweetheart. But, really, it doesn't matter - the whole point of the movie is to tell how love can happen in the most peculiar and random of places.All in all, a deeply touching picture that will leave one yearning for such a spontaneous romance to unexpectedly walk into their lives and a picture modern Hollywood should make note of. We certainly don't see movies like this anymore and it's a damn shame.

Hepburn is either too old and unattractive or Brazzi to young and refined (even though he's not very prosperous, we later find out) to make their relationship in this film believable. Brazzi acts as someone commented here more like a predator than as a man in need of love, but then again we never learn much about either character. Was Hepburn supposed to be a virgin? Why does everyone keep calling Hepburn signorina, even when she's with Brazzi? Was Brazzi really feeling lonely and couldn't find a pretty young Italian or tourist girl (he's quite a handsome fellow, you know) and was Hepburn the best he could get? Does he dig older American women (it seems he does)? It also seems he wanted to keep Hepburn but as a mistress, an arrangement she clearly would have refused, but this is never discussed during the abrupt ending. This film has some things in common with Lean's other doomed-from-the start romantic film "Brief Encounter", with trains as a motif. BTW, it seems things have changed plenty since 1955 given that today a woman in Venice I don't think would feel safe walking the city alone, specially at night. All in all, this a very dated, miscast, unbelievable, yet wonderfully photographed film.