Midsummer Madness (2007)

A comedy that follows a group of people immersed in Latvia's summer solstice celebration, the shortest night of the year.

Director:

Alexander Hahn

Writers:

Alexander Hahn (screenplay), Alexander Hahn (story)

Stars:

Orlando Wells, Gundars Abolins, Maria de Medeiros

11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Orlando Wells	...	Curt
Gundars Abolins	...	Oskars
Maria de Medeiros	...	Livia
Dominique Pinon	...	Toni
Chulpan Khamatova	...	Aida
Tobias Moretti	...	Peteris
Detlev Buck	...	Axel
Roland Düringer	...	Karl
Birgit Minichmayr	...	Maija
Daniil Spivakovskiy	...	Foma
Aurelija Anuzhite	...	Natasha
Yevgeni Sitokhin	...	Leonid
Victor McGuire	...	Mike
Benito Sambo	...	Yuki
Peter Faerber	...	Egons

Storyline

Janu Nakts (St. John's Night) is a traditional Latvian celebration during which family and friends gather to build bonfires, barbecue, drink and generally have a good time. According to legend, lovers and those who would like to fall in love, can search the woods for the "magic fern" on this night. This magic fern serves as the focus and pivotal point of the six stories in "Midsummer Madness" It is also a metaphor for the film's underlying theme - finding love. "MIDSUMMER MADNESS " is reflected in the recurring element of the magic fern, a metaphor (both in the film and in real life) for love. The question posed by the film is: can a search for love ever be successful? Each story deals with this question. An answer is provided at the film's conclusion in a humorous and unforgettable way: we see the legendary fern, glowing magically in a meadow. It exists after all! Then a cow ambles along and eats it. The deeper message, which is not obvious to the audience, is therefore: Yes, a ...

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Plot Keywords:

love | magic | celebration | midsummer | summer solstice | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Austrian Film Commission MySpace page

Country:

Latvia UK Austria Russia

Language:

English Latvian Russian French

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Car kresne noci

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$138,985

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fischer Film, Kaupo Filma, Steve Walsh Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Synchro Film, Austria)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[Last lines. Halfway through the end credits]
Customs Officer: I'm afraid I'm gonna have to take your fingerprints. Ah, just kidding. Welcome to Latvia and have a great stay.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, there is a short scene showing the customs officer in Riga airport, repeating a line from the beginning of the film, but ending the sentence differently.

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Alternate Versions

Midsummer Madness - The Director's Cut aka Version East.

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Connections

Referenced in Nearby (2019)

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Soundtracks

Sing it, Swing it
Performed by Aurelija Anuzhite
Composed by Boris Reznik
Lyrics by Eriks Balodis

User Reviews

Quirky. Very. And Utterly Enjoyable.

What a weird and wonderful little comedy it is! I know nothing about Latvia, but it seems to me that this is the director's declaration of love for his native country. Not in a pompous and patriotic way, mind you. The makers are not afraid to stray into neighbouring Lithuania for a bit. This is about the soul of the country and about ancient myths and traditions surrounding the summer solstice. Apparently this is the one night when everything goes and everybody, accordingly, goes crazy. Mostly in the pursuit of love. Or sex. Or both. A modern Latvian Midsummer Night's Dream, if you will.

The film tells several unconnected stories, every one involving foreign visitors from different countries arriving at the airport in Riga on the day of the summer solstice. There is an uptight American in search of his dying father's one time lover and her daughter, a Latvian air hostess who brings home her Japanese lover to meet her parents, two Liverpudlian fire fighters visiting their Latvian colleagues, a French poet come to scatter her late husband's ashes in his native country, and a couple of German and Austrian businessmen desperate to seal a deal. The stereotypical foreigners are beautifully stylized to the point of absurdity.