Summertime (1955) 7.4
A lonely American woman unexpectedly finds romance in Venice, Italy. Director:David Lean |
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Summertime (1955) 7.4
A lonely American woman unexpectedly finds romance in Venice, Italy. Director:David Lean |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Katharine Hepburn | ... | ||
| Rossano Brazzi | ... |
Renato de Rossi
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| Isa Miranda | ... |
Signora Fiorini
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| Darren McGavin | ... |
Eddie Yaeger
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Mari Aldon | ... |
Phyl Yaeger
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Jane Rose | ... |
Mrs. McIlhenny
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MacDonald Parke | ... |
Mr. McIlhenny
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Jeremy Spenser | ... |
Vito de Rossi
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Gaetano Autiero | ... |
Mauro
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Virginia Simeon | ... |
Giovanna
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Jane Hudson, a jaunty as well as attractive middle-aged secretary from Akron, Ohio, has finally made it to Venice, Italy, for her long-awaited dream vacation. Never-married Jane is a self-described "independent type" who's content, or so she claims, to go it mostly alone, armed with her movie camera. Jane soon discovers that even in a city as beautiful and fascinating as Venice, going it alone can still leave one feeling terribly lonely. All that is about to change, starting with a brief encounter at an outdoor café in the Piazza San Marco, where Jane draws the attention of a handsome antiques-shop owner named Renato de Rossi. Written by Eugene Kim <gene_kim@earthlink.net>
"Summertime" is more of a mood piece than anything else. It captures the loneliness of a traveler in a foreign land, in this case a spinster who is hungry for love but too repressed to accept the love Rossano Brazzi offers. It has a bittersweet ending, appropriate for a thin story that sets the tone early on and never once makes us believe that Hepburn is going to find her true love in Venice.
The photography is gorgeous and must have had everyone heading for the nearest travel bureau for a tour of Italy when the film was released. The performances are all excellent--but the film belongs to Hepburn. She creates one of her most moving and truthful portraits--sensitively showing us what this woman feels as she watches others pairing off for affairs, alone and unable to really connect. The sexual mores of the 1950s permeate the film--the sexual revolution was just over the horizon but not yet evident.
One of Hepburn's most subtle, yet affecting performances. With David Lean's sensitive direction, the gorgeous photography and the evocative background music, "Summertime" will put you under the spell of its fragile romance. Easy to see why Brazzi was the ultimate continental charmer.