The Summer of Sangaile

Even if she is from Lithuania, the director Alanté Kavaïte lives and works mainly in France so "Summer of Sangaïle" is the first film she shoots in her native country. Through the bright photography and the poetical shots, the film cleverly combines two story lines: the passion that is born between two opposite girls and Sangaïle's fascination and fear for planes. The chemistry between the actresses is blatant and we perceive it through the sublime contemplative shots and even if the plot is deliberately slow-paced, Sangaïle's evolution is charming. The clumsiness of some scenes and some easy story turns (such as the teenager that cuts herself) do not spoil the film, instead, they add a particular sensitivity to the bright atmosphere that witnesses the birth of this summer love. The scenery, between the lake and the landscapes that remind of Finland and the cold post-Soviet architecture, makes the film even more realistic and we understand that this duality exists not only between two different characters that get to love each other, but also between the anxiety and the beauty of overcoming our fears. Full review on our blog Los Indiscretos : https://losindiscretos.org

Sangaile is a 17 year old girl in love with acrobatic planes but is afraid of heights. She is lonely and cuts herself. She befriends Auste who lives nearby. Auste photographs Sangaile in her fashion designs and the two begin a summer romance. Auste helps Sangaile gain confidence to take flight.

The photography is dreamy. The girls are waif-like. The plot is thin. The drama is limited. The intensity is low. This Lithuanian indie provides another entry into the lesbian teen genre. The plane flying and vertigo could have been interesting but the movie fails to give it the visual effect. The teen girl angst is done as expected but nothing more. This is barely a pass.

One beautiful story narrated with several stand still moments but not in excess. The photography of the film and the landscapes used are simple and a the same time extraordinary. Julija Steponaityte can show us the feelings inside of a troubled young woman, without too much words. Her expressions make us understand what the character is felling and the troubles that goes on her life. Aiste Dirziute plays a much different character but also very emotional and also has the capacity to make one simpatize with her character. This film is a story where a fight for love of one character colides with a lack of willing to live of the other, but the two are important to outcome of the plot. Extraordinary direction and photography of Alante Kavaite, capturing the moments without staying to long in them but also without staying little time in them. Must see

First of all, I apologize for using this space to submit a request about this film's soundtrack, rather than writing a review on the film itself. Nevertheless, I would like to comment briefly on the story and the photography: The story is interesting and even though there is no plot as such, the love relationship developed between the two girls (main characters) in the film is portrayed in a spontaneous and natural fashion that I found particularly appealing. The photography and the scenery settings, especially those shot on very high places (the high voltage pylon and the plane performing acrobatics) are breathtaking. I don't remember having seen any Lithuanian movies before, and watching this film was a very valuable opportunity for me to get a glimpse of the culture in that country. Now, what I found extraordinarily beautiful is the music in the film, most especially, a fragment that I would like to know whether it is part of the original soundtrack or whether it was taken from another composer (Tchaikovsky, perhaps?)'s musical piece. On one of the occasions this brief musical piece is heard, it occurs approximately 15 minutes before the end credits. I would appreciate if somebody could enlighten me on this point.

Beautiful cinematography, beautiful colours and lighting, very pleasing to watch. I also really enjoyed the work with sound, enhanced at exactly the right moments, appreciated the great attention to details and small things -this is also where the sound editing comes in perfectly. Each shot was well-considered. However, the story line isn't very interesting and you can hardly see any character development, the dialogue mostly feels fake and uncomfortable. The main character seems to be reacting to things that the viewer hasn't been introduced to or at least hasn't been motivated enough to feel sympathy for, so the character's actions really annoyed me at times. Overall I really enjoyed the movie, but I would have wanted some more plot development.