Movies, Films & Flix

Grade – A – Directed by Alessandra Lacorazza, and featuring a standout performance from René Pérez Joglar (AKA Residente), In the Summers will linger in your memory and get you excited for whatever Lacorazza does next. 

The 2024 winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Best Director (Dramatic) at the Sundance Film Festival, In the Summers is a semi-autobiographical drama that feels lived in and real. I watched it last year and it has lingered in my memory (partially because I can relate to traveling to stay with a parent each summer). The cool people at Music Box Films (watch Fremont, Full Time, Mountains, The Complete Story of Film, The Unknown Country, Ema, and Ida now!) were nice enough to send me a Blu-ray copy and after watching it again and listening to the commentary I wanted to write a review in hopes that more people watch it. 

The film is broken up into four summers that feature the young, middle and adult versions of sisters Violeta (Dreya Castillo, Kimaya Thais, Leo Meheil) and Eva (Luciana Elisa Quinonez, Allison Salinas, Sasha Calle), who visit their dad Vincente (René Pérez Joglar – Residente) in Las Cruces, New Mexico, an extremely hot and picturesque city that’s surrounded by mountains. When they first arrive, Vincente is late to pick them up at the airport, and when he finally does, he proceeds to do what most summer parents do – take them to an amusement park and then stuff them full of pizza. From there, the kids hang out near the backyard swimming pool and go to the local bar to play pool with their dad, who always gets too drunk and stubbornly decides to drive them home. The second summer sees Violeta (Kimaya Thais) and Eva (Allison Salinas) returning to find the swimming pool in disrepair and eventually get injured during a horrific car crash caused by Vincente’s drinking. The next summer only middle Eva returns to Las Cruces, and she discovers that Vincente has a girlfriend and they are expecting a daughter. The final summer features adult Violeta (Leo Meheil) and Eva (Sasha Calle) coming back to find Vincente living alone with his daughter. It’s a bittersweet reunion that sees the matured Vincente becoming a caring dad and attempting to mend his relationship with his two daughters. I love the way it’s played because the hurt feels real and human because Vincente knows it might be too late to fix the relationships he broke with his drinking and temper.

While all the actors shine, its Residente who steals the show as Vincente. Vincente is a flawed man who loves his daughters (and alcohol), but has some demons that will never be excised. If you’ve listened to the song Reńe, you’ll know that the Grammy-winning Residente has had many booze-soaked experiences as a result of traveling the world. These life experiences make his portrayal of Vincente feel super authentic. It put a huge smile on my face when he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance because he really does breakthrough as an actor in this film. I appreciate how he adds a dose of intelligence and sadness to a character who does some terrible things that put his daughters in danger, but doesn’t come across as a one-dimensional bad dad. Lacorazza felt that Residente was perfect to play Vincente because at first glance, the hard-living and tattooed Residente projects a tough exterior, but his music and lyrics showcase an introspective and soulful person. What’s interesting is that Residente is a father, and he strongly dislikes Vincente because he thinks he’s a terrible dad. However, like Lacorazza, I see Vincente as a man who tries but will continuously fail. 

In a perfect world the film would’ve been shot in sequence, but due to the budget limitations of shooting with kids, Lacorazza and her excellent production team were forced to bounce between the four summers and occasionally shoot scenes from all four in one day. The cinematography by Alejandro Mejía is authentic and intimate and makes excellent usage of the mountainous terrain of Las Cruces. From a production standpoint, the highlight of the film is Vincente’s home which feels full of life and is perfectly decorated by the set dressers and production designer Estefania Larrain (No, Ema – two really good movies). Also, since I’m a big fan of cinematic swimming pools I love how Vincente’s swimming pool is used to tell where he’s at in his life, and it’s fun watching it evolve from a pristine swimming pool to an empty pool that adult Eva would love to skate in.  

The Blu-ray commentary from director Lacorazza and various department heads is an enlightening listen and should be on your radar if you have any plans to direct/produce/write an independent feature. Whether it’s losing a picture car at the last moment, or having the owners of an amusement park deny them access, the production was loaded with obstacles and it still managed to become an award-winning feature. I also liked hearing production designer Estefania Larrain talk about how she worked with Lacorazza to make sure that Vicente’s house felt like a living-breathing home that helped the rookie actors feel comfortable during the shoot. The highlight of the commentary is when Lacorazza talks about the difficult decision she had to make to change the ending in the edit. Lacorazza’s father died of a heart attack, and she planned on ending the film with Vicente suffering the same fate. However, after thinking it through, Lacorazza decided to end the film Vincente still alive and giving all the characters a glimmer of hope for a better future.

I’m a big fan of In the Summers and I totally recommend that you check it out. You won’t regret it.