Summer Rain (2006)

the music. the inspired delicacy to give honest, direct portrait of an unique age. poetry of a summer holiday of few teenagers. words, temptations, desires, gestures. and a surprising director who does more than a good adaptation but a touching message about the fragility of small things who become support of the next ages. this is the most important detail of this modest film. a film about ordinary aspects of the lives of teenagers. it is not a great film. only useful. for remind. for explore. for propose a way to self definition. characters. and the air of summer. and the dreams. and need to escape from a too small universe. from yourself. so, see it !

youth, sex,searches of life's sense, stories from the Franco's Spain, classic recipes about expectations, relation with family, love and need to escape. far to be a bad film, it seems have a specific public. the beauty of images, the atmosphere of Malaga, the references to American films about the same subject saves it to be only a movie by Antonio Banderas. because, more than an adaptation, it preserves and shows the spirit of a period. that is its basic virtue. and the remind of universal values. a beautiful film. not great, not impressive, only beautiful. and that could be enough. because it reminds more than presents.

First of all, this is the first Antonio Banderas film I've ever seen. It never crossed my mind that he could be a great director. I loved his vision; and he gained my respect for making such a beautiful film. I was blown-away, I really was.The dialogue was sublime and 'clever'; and let's take into account that the screenwriter was Antonio Soler himself, author of the homonymous book, El Camino de los Ingleses. Never thought that the dialogue could be so strongly poetic and passionate and therefore I was touched by it. I think that the voice-over was absolutely necessary and never found it annoying. It didn't bother me, as opposed to others. The acting was superb. They all were convincing and true to themselves and to the film. They all delivered a great performance; especially Raul Arevalo (Babirusa), which I must admit, he was my favourite of all. He managed to transmit a great feeling to the film. I believed him; **(here's the spoiler)** particularly when he's burning his magazines and he tells Miguelito that they're the type of people who don't forget, that they're the type who get their precious belongings and burn them.** You'll understand it better if you watch this film.The photography was completely breath-taking and awe-inspiring; the landscape (Malaga--Bandera's place of birth), the use of vivid colors, angles, pretty much everything was magnificent. The music was great, too, and very inspirational. The score was composed by Antonio Melieveo, in case you needed to know.I felt that El Camino de los Ingleses is, perhaps, the most honest work of the director. I could see that he delivered not only a great work, but passion and the best of intentions.Hope you enjoy it, (and play close attention). Thanks!(Uh, this is my first time posting a review for a film, so I hope you forgive me for not writing an exceptional one.)

I approached my viewing of this film with trepidation. The preview description I had read filled with me little confidence that I would enjoy it as I was expecting something quite sentimental. Also, films directed by actors often disappoint as their focus is usually on the acting performances and not the appearance of the film. But, to my surprise, what was most impressive about Summer Rain was the strong visual style of the director Antonio Banderas. His use of vibrant colours, striking vistas, dream scapes and powerful, haunting imagery made the film a true delight. Based on a prize winning Spanish novel and set in Banderas' home town, Malaga, it is apparent that the novel resonated deeply with Banderas. His passion for the work is evident in every scene. The cinematography is superb and the use of the widescreen aspect ratio contributes significantly to the rendering of what must have been rich source material. I now long for an English translation of the novel. Based on what I've seen Banderas attempt to do in this film, it seems that the book must have been a challenging adaptation. Voice-over is something I don't care for normally, but the elusive nature of the voice-over text in Summer Rain was a major factor in making this film such a pleasure. Rather than explain actions and motives, the periodic comments by the narrator (called Throat) heightened the atmospherics of the film. The choice of actors was excellent and all turn in performances that serve the themes of the film. Special mention has to go to Victoria Abril, who has played opposite Banderas before so many years ago. She is marvellous and lights up the screen with her evocation of the alluring older woman. I hope Antonio Banderas can find more projects to immerse himself in. His passionate rendering of Summer Rain suggests that he is a director to watch out for.