Summertime (1955)

 David Lean's "Summertime"

The collaboration between iconic British director David Lean and equally iconic Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn resulted in a film that Lean would retrospectively call the favorite of his career. Given that his career has consisted of works like "Brief Encounter," "Bridge on the River Kwai," and "Lawrence of Arabia," the statement speaks for itself. The film, 1955's "Summertime" follows an unmarried, middle-aged secretary who travels from Akron, Ohio to Venice to spend the summer. What follows is a teenage-style summer romance between her and a local shop owner.

While Lean himself favors this work over others, I find the film to be rather monotonous. The plot can be a bit meandering, while its constant uncertainty in what the true theme is results in a film full of bumps and lacks cohesion. I was never fully invested in the whimsical desire of our protagonist, nor was I fully interested in the summertime romance between her and the shop owner.

Despite the lack of interest with the story, I felt that Lean's direction was impeccable as always. While Lean had used color filmmaking before with 1945's "Blithe Spirit," he really started to focus his attention on large-scale shots and location shooting with "Summertime." Many of the shots are impeccable and really accentuate the city of Venice, turning it into "a character in its own right," as some annoying film enthusiasts often say.

All in all, I was pretty let down by "Summertime." The relationship at the heart of the story didn't peak my interest in the slightest. However, Lean got to experiment with Eastmancolor negative film and Technicolor prints, which would pave the way for his upcoming films that would change the landscape of British cinema.