PARK CITY – Movies that stick with you long after you watch them are nothing new. There are literally thousands of examples in the history of cinema. It’s one reason people are compelled to return to a movie theater again and again. But we’re not sure we can remember the last film centered on a father and his daughters that resonates as much as Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s “In The Summers.” Perhaps the thin air of the mountains of Utah is distracting us because even with its minor flaws, this is a Sundance Film Festival premiere that’s worth your attention.
Divided into four chapters, the film begins with young sisters Violeta (Dreya Renae Castillo) and Eva (Luciana Quinonez) traveling from California to visit their divorced father, Vicente (René Pérez Joglar, aka Puerto Rican hip-hop artist Residente), in Las Cruces, New Mexico. And they are soon as impressed as two elementary school-age girls can be. Vicente has taken over his deceased mother’s home with its old furniture and walls filled with family photographs, but it has a clean swimming pool to play in, and he’s eagerly excited to see them. He is seemingly an upbeat, optimistic man who is smarter than he seems (he tutors high school students at one point) but thinks billiard lessons for his two girls at a local bar is an essential family outing.
Violeta is immediately drawn to the proprietor of the bar, Carmen (Emma Ramos, fantastic), who is clearly queer. Later, when her dad is at work, she attempts to cut her long hair to a much shorter, less feminine hairstyle. Vicente doesn’t get mad at his daughter. He just takes her somewhere to get it cut correctly.
As they visit over the years, Vicente is always trying to find new ways to entertain them. They will get up early one morning and watch the sunset from his favorite hiking spot just outside the city, or he’ll take them out in the middle of the night to see the stars in the clear New Mexico sky. But the second time the girls come to visit (now teenagers played by Kimaya Thais Limòn and Allison Salinas), the façade that everything is all right has begun to crack. He’s late to pick them up at the airport. The water in the pool is full of dirty water. He gets in a shouting match with a Karen at an amusement park. And then he’s responsible for an accident that throws their delicate relationships into complete chaos (and the lack of clarity over what happens afterward is the film’s one rare blemish).
The third chapter finds Carmen off at college and Eva visiting by herself. Vicente doesn’t even show up at the airport. He’s remarried and has a brand new baby girl, Nathalie. Guilty over what has occurred years before, It feels like the last thing he wants is to look at Eva’s face. Thankfully, his new wife, Yenny (Leslie Grace, radiant), is sympathetic and kind to her. Vicente can barely stomach being with Eva. She is desperately doing everything she can to reconnect with him. Eva practiced her billiards game beforehand, hoping to impress, but when she was close to beating him, he quit. Oh, and the pool is somehow dirtier than before
The last chapter has the largest time jump. Now twentysomething adults, Violeta (Sasha Calle) and Carmen (Lío Mehiel) have drastically different yet strained relationships with their father. Vicente, on the other hand, has tried to pull himself together. He’s now raising his young daughter on his own. The pool is empty, but it’s clean. Can this family reconnect? Can these daughters find a bond with a father who, despite his best efforts, has only caused them pain?
Having had the opportunity to see “In The Summers” twice, Lacorazza Samudio has pulled off a splendid feature directorial debut. Inspired by events in her own life and a sparse 90 minutes, the screenplay is layered but tight. The emotional beats are purposeful and not forced. There is a nuance and authenticity to the entire endeavor that is genuinely refreshing. Granted, she owes a thousand thanks to her stellar cast, but it helps that her characters are well-rounded in the first place. A character such as Yenny may appear for only a few scenes, yet it feels like she’s been a central figure in the entire film. And the filmmaker also wonderfully guides her younger actors in performances that feel distinctly genuine. That’s not easy to do with child actors, whether it’s your first movie or your 10th.
Lacorazza Samudio also makes some gutsy directorial choices. There are moments when Vicente will speak paragraphs of dialogue and exposition in Spanish, and no subtitles will appear. If you don’t understand, that’s O.K. Lacorazza Samudio is making you focus on his emotions rather than what the word’s saying. It’s such an intelligent move that causes the viewer to pay closer attention to the proceedings.
Massive credit needs to go to Joglar, who is ultimately heartbreaking as Vicente. You’d never know this is his first real movie role, let alone a leading one. Mehiel becomes the rock of the final act as Violeta (the screen loves them), and Calle demonstrates incredible range as Eva. These are two relatively new actors, on the big screen at least, who are bursting with talent. They often tell you everything you need to know about both sisters without saying a word. And Lacorazza Samudio is gifted enough to capture it all with exceptional grace. [B+]
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