In the Summers

{{Infobox film

| name = In the Summers

| image = In The Summers (2024 film) poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Alessandra Lacorazza

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Janek Ambros
Lynette Coll
Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz
Alexander Dinelaris
Cristóbal Güell
Sergio Lira
Rob Quadrino
Jan Suter
Daniel Tantalean
Nando Vila
Slava Vladimirov
Stephanie Yankwitt

}}

| writer = Alessandra Lacorazza

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Eduardo Cabra

| cinematography = Alejandro Mejía

| editing = Adam Dicterow

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

Lexicon
Bluestone Entertainment
Exile Content Studio
1868 Studios
Luz Films

}}

| distributor = Music Box Films

| released = {{Film date|2024|1|22|Sundance|2024|9|20|United States}}

| runtime = 95 minutes

| country = United States
Mexico

| language = English
Spanish

| budget =

| gross = $90,443{{Cite web |title=In The Summers |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1048412161/weekend/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=2025-03-28 }}

}}

In the Summers is a 2024 semi-autobiographical drama film written and directed by Alessandra Lacorazza in her feature directorial debut.[https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/latino-owned-luz-films-sundance-winner-in-the-summers-interview-1234951180/ Latino-Owned Luz Films on Diversity and Sundance Winner In the Summers - IndieWire] The film received positive reviews from critics and won the Grand Jury Prize U.S. Dramatic at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.{{Cite news |last=Buchanan |first=Kyle |date=January 26, 2024 |title='In the Summers,' a Father-Daughters Tale, Wins the Top Prize at Sundance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/movies/sundance-film-festival-winners-list.html |work=The New York Times}}{{Cite web |date=2024-01-26 |title=The Complete List of 2024 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners |url=https://festival.sundance.org/blogs/the-complete-list-of-2024-sundance-film-festival-award-winners/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Sundance Film Festival |language=en-US}}

Plot

This film centers on two sisters navigating fraught summer visits with their father. In the first act, we see Vicente, their father, greets his two young daughters, Eva and Violeta, and spends good time with them. In the second act, the two girls, now in their early teens, begin to notice their father's drinking problem, causing tension. One night, Vicente is driving drunk and runs the car off the road, injuring Violeta. In the third act, we see that only Eva, in her last year of high school, came to spend time with father Vicente. She tries to reconnect with him, but he is emotionally distant. In the fourth act, both Eva and Violeta came, now adults. Vicente has had another child, and seems to have turned his life around, but now it's the two girls who are emotionally distant from him.

Cast

René Pérez as Vicente
Sasha Calle as Eva
Lío Mehiel as Violeta
Emma Ramos as Carmen
Leslie Grace as Yenny
Sharlene Cruz as Camila

Production

It is the debut film of Alessandra Lacorazza, and is loosely based on her childhood visiting her father in Colombia during the summers. Production took place in Las Cruces, New Mexico and wrapped in June 2023.{{Cite web |last=Cordero |first=Rosy |date=2023-07-11 |title=Indie Feature 'In The Summers' Starring Residente, Sasha Calle, Lío Mehiel & Leslie Grace Wraps Production; Drops First-Look Photos |url=https://deadline.com/2023/07/in-the-summers-first-look-photos-1235434203/ |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Cook |first=Mike |date=2023-08-07 |title=New York writer-director fell in love with Las Cruces: filming movie here |url=https://www.lascrucesbulletin.com/stories/new-york-writer-director-fell-in-love-with-las-cruces-filming-movie-here,52813 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Las Cruces Bulletin |language=en}}

Release

The film premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2024, winning the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic as well as the U.S. Dramatic Award for Directing, Screenwriting and Editing for Lacorazza. In June 2024, Music Box Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, planning a limited theatrical release on September 20, 2024, followed by a home video release.{{cite web|title=Sundance Prizewinner 'In the Summers' Finds U.S. Distribution With Music Box Films|website=Variety|first=Elsa|last=Keslassy|date=6 June 2024|access-date=6 June 2024|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/sundance-prizewinner-in-the-summers-finds-u-s-distribution-music-box-films-1236027339/}}

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics. {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|92|7.3|50|access-date=November 30, 2024|In the Summers homes in on emotional insights even as its narrative wanders, suggesting a bright future for writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza.|ref=yes}} {{Metacritic film prose|83|11|ref=yes|access-date=October 12, 2024}}

Lovia Gyarke of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a visual poem" and praised its acting, but criticized the pacing of the final act.{{Cite web |last=Gyarkye |first=Lovia |date=2024-01-22 |title='In the Summers' Review: A Quiet Debut Poetically Explores Forgiveness Between Parent and Child |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/in-the-summers-review-1235802986/ |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} Carlos Aguilar of Variety also praised the cast and its focus on "the everyday vicissitudes of ordinary folk", rather than overly inspirational Latino protagonists.{{Cite web |last=Aguilar |first=Carlos |date=2024-01-24 |title='In the Summers' Review: Moving Debut Spans the Foundational Years of a Parent-Child Relationship |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/in-the-summers-review-1235884207/ |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

Robert Daniels of Rogerebert.com criticized the film's lack of a strong central narrative, use of cliches and the distance between the audience and the characters, writing that it "has the look of a better film". However, he praised the actors, "especially the organically composed Residente" saying they "give more than the script offers".{{Cite web |last=Daniels |first=Robert |title=Sundance 2024: Didi, In the Summers {{!}} Festivals & Awards {{!}} Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/sundance-2024-didi-in-the-summers |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=RogerEbert.com |language=en}}