Summer Games

Unbearably slow, Summer Games follows several young kids as they befriend one another over the course of one extremely lazy summer – with the film also offering a glimpse into the kids’ less-than-ideal home lives. Filmmaker Rolando Colla has infused Summer Games with an extremely laid-back sensibility that isn’t initially quite as problematic as one might’ve feared, as the movie, which is consistently quite well made, admittedly, boasts several strong performances and a lazy, pleasant visual style that captures the scenic nature of the central locale. Even during its early goings, however, Summer Games is simply not terribly captivating – with the continuous emphasis on the kids’ frolicking lending the proceedings an aimless vibe that grows more and more oppressive at time progresses. It doesn’t help, either, that Colla’s ongoing attempts at infusing the proceedings with depth generally fall flat, as the director stresses elements of a decidedly (and dishearteningly) melodramatic nature (eg one kid has to deal with his abusive father, another must contend with a less-than-truthful mother, etc). The routine and downright conventional atmosphere only compounds the otherwise uneventful nature of Colla’s screenplay, and there is, as such, never a point at which one is able to work up an emotional connection with any of these people. (It doesn’t help, either, that the kids participate in oddly sadistic games within an abandoned shed.) By the time the protagonists stone a local dog to death, Summer Games has certainly confirmed its place as a misguided, sporadically unpleasant piece of work.

*1/2 out of ****