In the Summers

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

"In the Summers" won the Grand Jury Prizes for U. S. Dramatic Competition and Directing, Screenwriting and Editing and it is well deserved because Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio does a good job on capturing the themes of father and children's relationship, the personal struggles and the conflicts of flawed but loving parenting could be.

Throughout, the camerawork, style, and the atmosphere feels realistic and nature. The writing is standard as it isn't something that is new or ground-breaking but Samudio's direction was good and her new approach on the family dynamics and fatherhood felt refreshing without having to see the typical family tropes in movies. Many of the performances are really good with all the child actors doing a great job. The performance from Residente was really amazing as he really stands out with his performance.

The dialogue between the characters are interesting and the sense of realism, conflict and charm in the characters were emotionally investing and engaging. The pacing is pretty good, the soundtrack is good and the themes were well-executed. The third act does slightly lose a little of the magical to what the movie is going for.

But overall, it was one of my favorites of this years festival.