El verano que vivimos

It's a beautiful love story, but it was really challenging for me. It does not follow the typical Hallmark movie plot line for romantic dramas.

The heart ache is painful at times. As an American, I always want to see the characters escape their situation, become the hero, or get to the happy ending. Without spoiling it, I'll just say this story challenged me emotionally. It's hard to accept certain outcomes in life.

I personally grew to love Lucia. She's a classic beauty and so subtle. Her family tradition was that she'd marry the owner of the other vineyard, to combine the wealth of the two wealthy families. I desired to see her be free and happy.

For much of the story, Gonzalo (her secret love) has a dark, sad, and hollow facial expression. His mood is so dark, I questioned whether he was going to turn out to be the bad guy. My lesson here is that people who appear dark and depressed may have a very deep longing for something beautiful.

Scenery - Beautiful northern Spain.

Time period - Most of the movie is set in the flashbacks in 1958, which made it interesting but it was only a subtle part of the story.

Age appropriate for adults only. There are a few scenes with intimacy and also several violent scenes.