Summertime marks the first film I've watched while doing this project that I knew absolutely nothing about going in. That was probably a good thing given what this film is. It's a David Lean film, and while I've enjoyed his films in the past, Lean isn't a director that I seek out. It stars Katherine Hepburn, an actress who much like Laurence Olivier is one that I respect without necessarily being excited about watching. And then there's the plot, which is another one of those American abroad stories where a foreign culture shakes up the staid life of an aging character, usually female. The DVD cover could have just as well had a gigantic red "MEH" stamped on it as far as my interest is concerned.
Thankfully I didn't know all this going in so I couldn't prejudge it, but the film does itself no favors as right from the beginning Hepburn plays up the excited tourist, filming everything and giving Lean the opportunity to cram in numerous shots of Venice. The first people she meets are an obnoxious old American couple who blather on about all the places they're visiting and who treat Europe as a series of boxes that they check off as they hit each country. This does have one delightful joke as the man names off each place they've visited thus far, and when he says "Paris" his wife cringes. The ol' Brit Lean just couldn't help himself there. She then meets a young artist couple, an adorable street boy, and then finally a handsome Italian man named Renato (played by Rossano Brazzi). Romance ensues, then it turns out that Renato is married, then they fuck anyway, and then she leaves the country via train.
In theory every film should be for everyone, but man, this one has "not for me" written all over it. I'm not saying that there aren't things that I liked here. I appreciate a 1955 film dealing with a middle aged couple have a one-off fling, with the husband admitting that he's married no less, and not heaping the standard bullshit shame on them for their actions. The little street boy threatens to be annoying, but he comes off as charming and I loved the scene where he blatantly lies to Hepburn about wanting a cigarette for his uncle and she gives him one anyway, calling him out on his lie. The acting all around is good and Hepburn delivers a typically great performance as a bundle of tightly-wound nerves that slowly loosen up as the film progresses. This is just not the kind of story that I have any interest in whatsoever, and I would never have watched this if it weren't in the collection.
Part of the appeal of this genre of film is seeing shots of a foreign country and having the vague sensation of traveling without going anywhere. About a third of this movie feels like a high budget Rick Steves video. There are some great shots here, but nothing was ever able to get me fully invested in this film. Strangely enough, the only film in this genre that I can remember enjoying was the much shittier Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, a one-off directorial effort by José Quintero based on a one-off novella written by Tennessee Williams. It's not as good as Summertime, but I like Vivien Leigh as an actress a hell of a lot more than Hepburn, and Williams' lurid, lusty plot sucked me in much more than this one, even though Lean crushes Quintero as a director. Plus, while Summertime has a lot of charming jokes, nothing in this movie is nearly as funny as seeing Warren Beatty struggling to do an Italian accent in Roman Spring.
This is probably my easiest ranking yet. Summertime is a good, inoffensive movie that I'm sure a lot of people love, but it's one that is going to pass through my memory without leaving a trace. The whole thing was so airy to me, so light and chocolatey, that after the final image of Hepburn on the train I felt like I needed to jot down my thoughts ASAP, for fear that they would disappear before I had the chance to write about this film. I will always rank a film that makes me sick to my stomach over a film that I have complete indifference to, every time. Therefore, Summertime plunges to the bottom of the list.
1. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
2. Seven Samurai (1954)
3. The Seventh Seal (1957)
4. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
5. Grand Illusion (1937)
6. Shock Corridor (1963)
7. Hard Boiled (1992)
8. Sid and Nancy (1986)
9. The 400 Blows (1959)
10. Walkabout (1971)
11. The Killer (1989)
12. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
13. Dead Ringers (1988)
14. The Naked Kiss (1964)
15. A Night to Remember (1958)
16. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
17. The Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956)
18. Amarcord (1973)
19. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
20. Summertime (1955)
Next time: I struggle to be objective when I watch my favorite action film, Robocop.
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