Echoes of a Summer (1976)

People are voting emotionally.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Take Richard Harris' off-key singing over the opening credits as a warning: This is a bad film.Based on the flop Broadway play "Isle of Children" (11 performances in 1962) this maudlin story about a dying kid approaching her 12th birthday is nothing but talk and more talk set along the Nova Scotia coast.Jodie Foster plays little Deirdre as a pint-sized Camille with occasional coughs and sputters and chest clutching. She's dying from a bad heart. Daddy (Richard Harris) is her best friend and has apparently packed up the family to a coastal village in Nova Scotia (this is a Canadian film production) to give Deirdre one last wonderful summer. She's a little princess and he's built a miniature castle for her on a stairway landing by the sea. Mommy (Lois Nettleton) seems to spend her time chasing doctors and wringing her hands over Deirdre's fate. She and daddy fight constantly about what to do. Of course there is nothing they can do. There's also a stern tutor (Geraldine Fitzgerald) who makes Deirdre memorize historical knowledge (why?) and blathers about Jesus. The family is not religious.There's also a neighbor, a 9-year old (Brad Savage) who is Deirdre's best friend. He seems to serve as a sounding board for the family and asks questions only an adult would ask. Then there's a brief appearance by William Windom as a non-nonsense doctor who tells the parents for the hundredth time the kid is doomed.The ending, where the parents put on a play with a herd of overdressed children from the village in the audience, is intolerably bad yet seems to serve as a "happy ending" for all involved. I suppose it's supposed to be a bit of whimsy, but it falls flat even though the children watch this nonsense in rapt attention.Main problems are that sturdy little Jodie Foster is the wrong choice for playing Deirdre. You never believe for a minute that she is sickly. Harris mugs his way through his role (he also produced the film) with a wandering accent. Nettleton, Fitzgerald, and Windom all have one-dimensional roles. Savage is ok but his role as written, sounds like he's 19 rather than 9.Also incredibly bad is the music track that churns on in the background using strains from WEST SIDE STORY's "Maria" and the theme from GONE WITH THE WIND patched into it's Muzak score. Little Deirdre's (last) birthday wish is to be old. The audience must have been wishing for this film to be OVER.

i was very disappointed of the votes for this movie...why the low ranking? because is a classical? it is a very, very good movie, it is an excellent one, i might say. it has beautiful, brilliant lines...the kid (the sick girl in the movie) is simply genius... just watch the movie, i can't describe it's beauty, words simply are not enough. Yes is a typical one, it makes you cry, is sensible, it has a classical drama...but who are we to judge this in 1976?? i know that many hide behind the concept of strength, behind laughter, behind violence, behind...philosophy. is true, in 2006 homo sapient is dead...mow lives homo videns (sartori). Today, we are very visual, we communicate very often through visual arts, in media, in advertising, in entertainment, in everything...we meed special effects? too bad. this movie is too simple for us? think again...i just love it.

I seen this movie when it first came out in 1976. This is my all time favorite Jodie Foster movie. I think this is one of Jodie's best as a child actress. Not that she didn't do a great job in her other roles; but for whatever reason, this movie has been my favorite. Dealing with the reality of death and dying, which most children around this age(between 7 & 13)it's a big fear factor. And for the family(mother and father, siblings)dealing with with the emotional stress of losing a love one, at such a young age. Has to be the most heart breaking experience. I love the drama of this movie. How it deals with reality. It's a great movie. Richard Haris does a great job portraying the father. It helped me deal with the reality of death and dying.

Since it's been a long time since I saw the movie, and since I have searched for several years for it I would have to give it a 10. Since I have remembered only how it made me feel; what a wonderful, warm sense I got at that young age that has lasted, to make me want to; no, really, crave to see this movie again. I couldn't remember the actors. All I could remember was the little girl was dying and the love between her and her father was so beautiful and there was a sand castle. Tonight I decided that I had to find the movie and I did a search and remembered the name Richard. I found it. And my goodness, Richard Harris and Jodie Foster - two of my very, very favorite actors and what a wonderful job they did. I could see them. I don't know why I couldn't recognize them. I would recommend this movie to everyone. I will be getting it (finally) and won't let it out of my sight. Enjoy!