Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s feature debut, In the Summers, is about making up for lost time and learning how to reconcile with distance while that time hangs over you. In a tale that spans decades but remains at mostly the same locations, In the Summers‘ angst, regret, and longing radiate through its patient storytelling. Are we always worried about becoming our parents? Are they, in turn, constantly worried that they let us see too much that we weren’t supposed to? A lot is left unsaid but is telegraphed without dialogue with strong performances throughout.
Eva and Violeta only see their father when they visit him in New Mexico in the summer months. When you’re that young, you think having pizza every night and learning how to play pool in a bar is the best vacation you could possible have, and these young girls are amped with that enthusiasm. Their father, Vicente, is playful and loves them dearly, but his substance abuse can be hidden better when they are unaware of how the world really works. Violeta, who is older, can sense the danger creeping.
Vicente is played by René Pérez Joglar with a nimble smile and a joking spirit. When he is pushed by a defiant but still young Violeta in the second chapter of Samudio’s film, you can see the anger and volatility flood Vicente’s entire body. He does not like to be tested or insulted, and you feel an impending danger that you are helpless to stop. It’s remarkable that Joglar (who might be best known by his stage name Residente) slides easily between that charming presence and that uncontrollable darkness, and he makes a truly impressive debut performance. He watches his children, played by three different sets of performers, grow up as we see Vicente try to stay on the truest path he can find.
Seeing this during Sundance virtually feels different on a second watch. I felt Vicente’s regret and the heaviness on his heart as he knows that he can’t change his past behavior even as I understood and sided with Eva and Violeta’s fear and anger. In the final chapter (Samudio divides her film into four specific sections), Vicente welcomes his kids back into his home, and he thinks he can do everything the same way. I imagine welcoming his children is as much of a tradition for this father as it is for them, but that childlike admiration transforms to more grown-up ambivalence with every returning visit. Vicente has another daughter from another relationship, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Eva and Violeta tally or compare their dad’s methods now that they can observe with maturity. Lio Mehiel, as Violeta in the final chapter, continues to impress even if they have limited screen time.
Daydreaming about the summer evolves as we grow. We long for it when we want to get out of school, and it feels like it poses endless possibilities. In the Summers breathlessly captures that excitement as it examines how some of us are forced to grow up before we are ready. Our parents are the ones we discover many “firsts” with and that ideal of summertime can feel like a distant memory when you are an adult. Samudio’s film is tribute to growing up and looking back, but it has the intellect and gumption to know the difference between them.
In the Summer is in theaters now.
